“'Nobody’s perfect.’ That’s what everybody says. And I guess they’re right.” A little boy provides examples of people in his life who are less than perfect: His little sister Gigi is loud, his best friend Jack is a show-off, and his mom is stubborn. He himself is messy, humorously illustrated in back-to-back full-page illustrations of his room before and after he cleans it. The “after” version is even messier than the original because of all the playing that occurred during the so-called cleaning. Perspectives flip when he goes back through the same list of imperfections and puts a positive spin on each one (“Sometimes I’m happy that Gigi is loud. Really loud!”), concluding that “nobody’s perfect, but sometimes they come close, and that’s perfect enough for me.” The scratchy childlike illustrations are expressive and exuberant in this light-hearted exploration of a universal theme. (Ages 3–7)

Not being perfect has its virtues in this irresistible child’s-eye view.

Your best friend is kind of a show-off. Your baby sister is loud. And Mom can be pretty stubborn. Not perfect! But sometimes they come pretty close, and you do, too. David Elliott’s winning, tongue-in-cheek text combines with Sam Zuppardi’s fresh, kid-friendly illustrations to show that life may be more about patience than perfection, and that focusing on the positive reaps its own rewards.