What Dads Do Best! Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea

I MAY BE LITTLE, BUT I'M AS SMART AS TWO EIGHT-YEAR-OLDS!

I'M SO SMART I EVEN SHOW MY DADDY HOW TO DO THINGS--AND HE'S A GROWN UP.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY DADDY WOULD DO WITHOUT ME!

But this dad is smart like a fox! Getting kids to go along with the routines of daily life in a timely fashion is one of the most difficult of parental responsibilities--especially in those little tasks in which youngsters are born experts in stalling tactics.

Take getting dressed in time for school. With Daddy stealing a harried look at his watch, we see the kid, dressed so far only in his skivvies, cheerfully watching TV while his clothes for the day remain carefully laid out on a chair since the night before. What's a dad to do to move things along without setting off a squabble?

"IS THIS HOW YOU GET DRESSED?" Daddy says, popping into the bedroom with oven mitts on his hands, a bucket on one foot, a polka-dot sock on the other, and a flower pot on his head.

"OH, DADDY!" the kid laughs, and quickly shows his dad how to get dressed properly for school.

When the kid drags his feet about climbing into the car for a trip to Grandma's, Daddy works the same trick, "IS THIS HOW YOU GET IN THE CAR?" he asks, clambering clumsily in through the car's window. Juggling carrots at lunch is another ploy to get the boy to show Dad how to eat his veggies. And just to keep his cover from being blown, Daddy gives the kid a chance to turn the tables: Dad sprinkles the boy with his watering can, which gives the kid a chance to spray his father with the hose to show him how to water flowers properly.

It's all in good fun, showing that good dads know how to use a bit of humor to soften those little life lessons that are the meat and potatoes of upbringing. And when Daddy proves himself totally incompetent in giving himself a hug, the boy demonstrates that he already knows everything there is to know about hugging a funny, sweet Daddy the way he deserves to be hugged.

Bob Shea's new Oh, Daddy! (Balzer & Bray, 2010) uses bright pastel pages to set off his droll comic characters, simple but highly stylized black-line hippos, to illustrate what dads do best, using a bit of humor to get through those necessary routines that are the staples of daily daddying. A joyful and wonderful book for Fathers Day reading and sharing!