Back to School: Dad School by Rebecca Van Slyke

WHEN I GO TO SCHOOL, I LEARN HOW TO WRITE MY NAME, PAINT PICTURES, AND PLAY GAMES. MY DAD SAYS HE WENT TO SCHOOL, TOO.

I THINK HE WENT TO DAD SCHOOL.

And the endearing narrator Lucas approves of his dad's curriculum. He studies fixing boo-boos, making multi-decker ham-and-cheese sandwiches with pickles and potato chips for the lunch box, and how to toss his son high into the air and never drop him (he practices with plush toys, of course, until he's error-free.) Of course, all that tossing requires BIG muscles, so all the dads have to spend some time in Dad gym class pumping iron! And then there's that absolutely essential parenting skill--multitasking!

AT DAD SCHOOL, THEY EARN HOW TO DO MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME, LIKE MAKING BREAKFAST AND CHECKING MY HOMEWORK.

Dad can even play Go-Fish and pay the bills at the same time.

But Dad's education does have a few deficiencies--

DAD MISSED THE DAYS THEY TAUGHT ABOUT MATCHING COLORS, BRUSHING HAIR, AND CLEANING THE BATHROOM.

But what's a little messy hair and toilet paper and toothbrushes on the floor when your dad is so good at fixing your bike and climbing the monkey bars at the park?

Rebecca Slyke's delightful Dad School (Doubleday and Company, 2016) shows an adorable father and son, backpacks and lunch sacks and all, as youngsters learn how dads learn to do it all. Lucas is proud as Dad graduates in cap and gown and gets an appropriate trophy, all portrayed engagingly by artist Priscilla Burris's just-right illustrations done in blackline and flat intense colors. Burris even contributes winsome endpapers, with three-hole-punch lined notebook paper with repeat patterns of Dad's school supplies--from bandaids to wrenches to a deck of Go-Fish cards. This one is a sly way to approach the off-to-school jitters for preschoolers, pointing out that even Dads need their schooling. "Sweetly funny and full of paternal devotion," adds Publishers Weekly.

Pair this one with Van Slyke's and Burris's equally winning companion book, Mom School.