When Brian Met Terry - Russell Kane - ★★.¾

AUTHOR: Russell Kane

ILLUSTRATOR: Erica Salcedo

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: May 5, 2026

RATING: 2.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: A picture book about a cat whose cosy life is upturned with the arrival of a new pet. Great comic potential with a cute dog and a nefarious cat. Too many scatological inclusions for my taste. More focus on the problem than on the solution, which is a major negative. This plot doesn’t capitalise fully on its potential, but it might work better for kids.

Plot Preview:

Terry is a Burmese cat who lives the purrfect life with his three human servants: Minna and her parents. Terry loves being worshipped (his words, not mine), and as the other cat in the house is asleep almost the whole time, Terry gets his way with his humans. Everything changes when they bring home a chihuahua pup named Brian, who is Terry’s opposite in every way. He immediately captivates everyone with his laser-love heart eyes. But Terry is immune to the pup’s devious attempts at winning him over, and as he turns more and more dramatic and aggressive in retaliation, the family worries if Terry and Brian can ever become friends.

On paper, this story has great comedic potential. We all know about the differences between pet cats and dogs, but when the cat in question is someone as pampered and self-centred as Terry, the resultant tantrums are gargantuan. However, this potential isn't fulfilled to the fullest because of some of the writing choices.

Terry is an interesting character who is better at the start. Despite his obvious ego, I enjoyed how he lords over the others in the house and knows his exact requirements from his “human servants”. His thoughts are initially quite entertaining. However, after Brian’s appearance, Terry’s behaviour turns overly hostile and vengeful. Some of the actions he takes might seem funny to juvenile minds, but they annoyed me.

A major chunk of the story is dedicated to establishing Terry’s life before Brian’s entry in the house and to the wicked things Terry does to show the family his annoyance. The actual resolution of the issue barely gets any focus. Further, the solution is not something practical or lesson-worthy, i.e. it doesn’t come through Terry’s self-awareness of being selfish, or of realising that Brian also is a part of the family, or via a joint discussion/conversation between them to help resolve the matter. Instead, the turnaround begin with Brian’s “laser-love heart eyes” that convert Terry’s mind: magical but not pragmatic.

While the story involves the struggles of an established pet to adjust to the presence of a new, possibly cuter pet, the situation can be metaphorical to children who find it difficult to accept the presence of new baby siblings in their family. That’s why I would have liked this story to have more concrete steps towards acceptance and love than this insta-turnaround involving magic.

The writing style of the book is decent. There are some words that might be tough for the target age group, but there is also a good mix of coined words, rhyming words, alliterations, onomatopoeic words, and puns. However, there is quite a lot of text per page, making it seem more like a proper story book than like an early readers’ picture book. Edelweiss says that the book is for kids aged 3-6 years, but the younger lot will not understand the puns or the big words. So it might be better for kids aged 5-7.

Furthermore, while poop/fart appearances in picture books are not so uncommon, this book overdoes it. I usually laugh heartily at clever bathroom humour, but in this story, the scatological content felt unnaturally forced in. A couple such jokes could have been tolerated, but too much toilet talk in a storybook seems more desperate than funny.

The illustrations are decent enough. I loved all the animal graphics but the humans could have been sketched slightly more realistically; their expressions felt a bit flat at times.

I’m guessing a part of the Brian-Terry rivalry is based on true events because the back content includes two photographs of the author, one each with a Burmese cat and a chihuahua. If these two cuties are indeed Terry and Brian, I can totally see how Brian’s eyes have magical laser-love beams.

Overall, this is a decently funny book that works better if you don’t mind excessive bathroom humour in picture books. Don’t look for morals or life lessons in this book; it is strictly for entertainment.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group for providing the DRC of “When Brian Met Terry” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.