Stories 1, 2, 3, 4

K-Gr 3–Four stories are devoted to exchanges between a small girl and her parents (and sometimes a maid) as she wakens them each morning hungry for a story. A third-person narrator clues readers in that Mama and Papa have been out late the night before, and that the father has most likely overindulged in food, beverage, and entertainment, but the richness of the text lies within his stories. The tales range from the absurd (a child’s name is Jacqueline, as is everyone’s name in her family as well as all whom she meets), to the renaming of all objects in the house, and a highly imaginative father/daughter flight on an airplane. The closing story is a cheeky pseudo-game of hide-and-seek where Papa encourages his daughter to “find” him as he bellows clues to his whereabouts from the bathroom as he prepares for the day. Stunningly illustrated, this collection is a visual feast. Young children will linger over pages full of animals, artifacts, even a lunar landscape. The stories may, at first glance, seem absurd, but to imaginative children, they make perfect sense. The dialogue between the girl and the adults in her life is spot-on silliness and will resonate with those who are young and those who remember being young. Perfect for lap sharing, albeit a bit heavy, this book will keep them engaged for hours.---–C. J. Connor, Campbell County Public Library, Cold Spring, KY