Days with Dad: It's the Best Day Ever, Dad! by Brooke Shields

Is there a perfect dad anywhere in the world?

Well, there's definitely one--just in time for Father's Day--in Brooke Shields' newest picture book, It's the Best Day Ever, Dad! And, apparently, it's not because he's well rested!

Violet and I wake Daddy up by playing music and doing a dance. We call ourselves the Alarm Clock Girls.

Does Daddy roll over and give Mom a nudge to take over her dancing daughters? Nope, not this dutiful dad. He sneaks out of the bedroom to let his wife get her day of rest, stirs up shaped pancakes, and whisks the girls out to the dog park, where he teaches the older daughter to throw a Frisbee like a pro, with a warm "Good throw, Frankie!"

Then, after a stop for ice cream, Dad takes the girls home, puts little Violet down for her nap and joins Frankie on the couch for a little father-daughter B-ball-watching. "Defense, defense," Frankie cheers, while Dad slips into a much needed sofa nap. Then when Violet is up again, the three go outside and chalk up a home-designed hopscotch game on the driveway, one that even Darla the dog manages to enjoy.

Lots of hopping builds up a bit of an appetite, so it's up to the girls' bedroom where Frankie and Violet set up the Sister Cafe, where the girls dress up in heels and toe shoes, tutus and tiaras, while Dad cheerfully dons beads and a boa for a full-dress tea party.

Dad just has time to turn into the tickle monster as he oversees the cleanup of the tea parlor before heading down to the kitchen, where he and Mom are the lead cooks on a SUPER DUPER SPAGHETTI SURPRISE created by the FIVE FAMOUS CHEFS. Spreading a plaid blanket on the grass outside, the whole family has a moonlit picnic supper to wind up a wonderful day.

"Wow. We had the best day ever, Dad!"

Dad kisses me goodnight and says, "Tomorrow we'll go to the beach!"

Cori Doerrfeld's jaunty daddy and his delighted daughters bounce through her illustrations of their perfect day in Shields' tribute to this paragon of papas. It's the Best Day Ever, Dad! is fun for daughters who dote on their dads, and, we hope, an inspiration to fathers everywhere.