My Dad Is Big and Strong, BUT...

PreS-K—It's 9:00 p.m. But when Dad says, "I don't want to go to bed!" his young son tries reasoning with him—It's already quite late. You need to go to sleep in order to be in good shape for tomorrow"—and calming him down with a story, but Dad knows all the tricks to stay up late. He initiates a game of chase, begs for one more story, and leaves his bed to ask a question. Dad's procrastinating makes sense, at last, when it is revealed that he is afraid of the dark. The boy, who has been patient and loving throughout, has a solution that helps his father settle down. Shades of brown predominate in the quirky illustrations, which are a mix of photographs, line drawings, and cartoon sketches. At times, the type reinforces the characters' reversal of roles, with the father's words resembling a child's penmanship, while his son's are set in a bold, three-dimensional font. This picture book will work well as a silly bedtime story.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada