Do It with Daddy! Let's Have a Daddy Day by Karen Kingsbury

LET'S GO ON A DADDY DAY.
A TIME FOR ME AND YOU.
TODAY WHILE YOU'RE STILL LITTLE
THERE'RE SO MANY THINGS TO DO.

Karen Kingsbury's Let's Have a Daddy Day (ZonderKidz, 2010) riffs on the format of the folk lullaby, "Hush Little Baby," in which the singer invents the IF-THEN loop, coming up with an escalating series of possible alternative gifts, as in "If that mockingbird won't sing/Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring." Here the papa in question comes up with wonderful activities for a "Daddy Day," beginning with building a fort in their tree, but just in case, he's also got a Plan B.

BUT IF THE RAIN FROM YESTERDAY HAS MADE THE TREE TOO WET,
WE'LL BUILD THAT HOUSE ANOTHER DAY. IT CAN'T BE DONE JUST YET.

SO HOW ABOUT SOME TADPOLES? CANBY CREEK HAS LOTS OF THOSE.
THEN WE COULD HAVE A DADDY DAY WITH SQUISHY, SOGGY TOES.

But what if those tadpoles have already turned into frogs? Well, there's always the lake, a perfect place to play Army rangers. And if it's too hot to chase each other around down by the water, there's always the vacant lot for an pick-up game of baseball in which everyone gets to star. Of course, that vacant lot could now be the site of a new building, in which case.... well, you get the picture.

This daddy is a fount of ideas for what to do on Daddy Day, and in case ALL of those scenarios turn out to be a no go, Dad and the two kids can always get down on the floor for a bit of wrestling or playing horsey on Dad's strong back.

'CAUSE, HEY, WE'RE HERE. WE'RE SIDE BY SIDE!
LET'S DROP DOWN TO THE FLOOR.
LET'S WRESTLE 'TIL WE LAUGH AND CRY
AND SHOUT OUT LOUD "NO MORE!"

SO WHEN YOU'RE ALL GROWN UP AND YOU LOOK BACK UPON THIS DAY,
YOU'LL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU 'CAUSE WE TOOK THE TIME TO PLAY.

Around Fathers Day it's always good to be reminded that those "Daddy Days" don't last forever. So for fathers looking for a way to observe their day, Karen Kingsbury's motto is carpe diem. Whatever else the kids have in store for you, seize the day and play with the kids for a while. They'll love it, no matter what, as long as you're in the game with them.