Be Glad Your Dad... (Is Not an Octopus!)

April 11, 2016
In their first children’s book, Logelin and Jensen reveal that while human dads can be “grouchy, bossy, or just totally gross,” it could be worse: an owl father “would keep you up aaaaaaaaaall night,” and a snake dad “would shed his skin in front of your friends.” In vivid digital cartoons, Chapman (Steve, Raised by Wolves) pictures two siblings suffering through each less-than-wonderful parent, from a monkey serving up a meal of bugs to a dino dad who’s “nothing but bones.” Irreverent closing notes offer extra details about the 16 animals. Light, jokey fun—dung beetles are always good for a laugh, right? Ages 4–8. Authors’ agent: Rachel Sussman, Chalberg & Sussman. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

April 1, 2016
A pair of siblings explores the reasons why a dad of another species would be way worse than the dad they have now. Even though their dad is sometimes grumpy and gross, at least he doesn't leave balls of poop in their rooms as a dung-beetle dad might. And they should be glad he's not a snake who might shed his skin in front of all their friends--that would be embarrassing. Saying "Boo!" to a skunk dad might result in some major stink, and an owl dad would keep them awake all night. Readers will get the idea after the first few spreads, but the shtick covers 16 animals. Chapman's illustrations are done on vibrantly colored backgrounds, the characters and animals in full color, while props and extra details are only outlined in black. The typography gets in on the act: "Be glad your dad is not a TORTOISE, because e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d t a k e f o r e v e r." Like the words, a trail of melted ice cream stretches across the spread from the cone dad has scooped his child. While the characters' faces express emotion, readers may be distracted by their noses, which are piglike and oddly dark against their otherwise fair skin. Three final pages tell "More about the animals in this book," but these facts vary widely in the quality of the information they impart (it's never explained why a quail dad would be boring, for instance). This tries too hard to be funny...and misses. (Picture book. 4-8)

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June 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 1-Usually children are happy with their dads, except for "when he is grouchy, bossy or totally gross." Two children imagine their father as different animals, all with bad results. If your dad were a dog, he would lick your face. If he were a tortoise, everything would take way too long. A monkey dad would feed you insects. If he were a unicorn, no one would believe in him. Iguanas, skunks, dung beetles, and whales would all make terrible fathers for human children. The list of alternative father animals goes on, with similarly unappealing outcomes. The moral is that though kids may sometimes wish their dads were different, they should be happy with the parents they have. The book concludes with fun animal facts for each featured creature. The silly cartoon illustrations were digitally created using Photoshop. VERDICT This playful celebration of dads is perfect for storytime or one-on-one reading.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Take it from these two siblings: wishing that an occasionally "grouchy, bossy" dad will become someone else can backfire ("Be glad your dad is not a DUNG BEETLE, because he would pile poop in your room," etc.). Illustrations showing Dad as the various animals spotlight the hilarious buyer's remorse on the siblings' faces inspired by the imagined animals' (mis)behaviors. Related animal facts appended.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)