It's A Dad Day! Rory the Dinosaur: Me & My Dad by Liz Climo

RORY LIVES ON AN ISLAND WITH HIS DAD.

HE HAS A LOT OF ENERGY. SOMETIMES TOO MUCH.

Rory, that is. Dad? Not so much.

Dad has read books to little Rory. He's taken him fishing. Now Dad is out of energy. He declares it's Dad's Day OFF, and repairs to his hammock with one of his long, boring books for some quiet time.

Hmmph! It's too quiet and Rory is still full of energy. He decides he'll do stuff by himself. He packs up a peanut butter sandwich and some guy gear in his knapsack and heads off for a solo adventure (or so he thinks).

RORY WALKS TO THE RIVER.

BUT HE'S NOT ALLOWED TO SWIM BY HIMSELF.

Suddenly he sees a series of stepping stones he's never noticed before. He quickly crosses the river--all by himself!

Eeek! A hungry wild pig charges. Little Rory opens his mouth and lets out a little ROAR,, unaware that a big dinosaur behind him lets out an intimidating ROAR! The boar bolts for the tall timber, and Rory struts on, proud of his prowess.

When Rory stops for lunch, he realizes he forgot to pack himself a drink.

"AW, MAN!"

Suddenly a coconut drops down, splitting open perfectly, from the palm tree right over Rory's head. Ahhh! Refreshing! But then it starts to rain. Rory looks around fruitlessly for cover. But suddenly the rain stops--just where he's standing. Rory figures he's good at picking just the right places, while over his head, savvy readers will spot good ol' Dad, doing a plank between two palms to keep his clueless lad dry beneath him.

The joke's on the unaware Rory, of course! He's dazzled with his new solo-roaming skills, while poor Dad is frazzled with the responsibility of looking out for his wandering boy, in Liz Climo's latest, Rory the Dinosaur: Me and My Dad (Little, Brown and Company, 2015). Youngsters will instantly spot Dad's only partly hidden but doting oversight of little Rory's first venture into the wilds. Climo's illustrations and hand-lettered text are darn cute, but her theme, that devoted dads don't let their little wanderers get into too much trouble, shines through the fun. A clever read aloud and a nice tribute to fathers on Dad's Day.