Father Knows Best: Dad and the Dinosaur by Gennifer Choldenko

Nicholas was afraid of the dark outside his door where the giant bugs lived, and the underside of manhole covers.

His dad was not afraid of anything.

Little Nick wants to be like his Dad, brave and daring, and he has a secret that helps him be that way.

I needed a dinosaur.

Nick has a little toy T. Rex that gives him the fearless nature he desires. When he clutches it in his hand, he feels the power of a dinosaur within.

When Little Nick had his dinosaur in his pocket, he was just as brave as Big Nick.

With his little plastic talisman in his pocket Little Nick courageously climbs to the top of the rock wall. At a a soccer game, he tucks it inside his sock and charges fearlessly down the field, scoring a goal against the rival team's goalie, nicknamed The Gorilla.

But after the game, Nick discovers that his dinosaur is gone. He searches the field until Mom makes him leave for home. Nick's not hungry at dinner, and when he goes to bed without his dinosaur under his pillow, even the dark in his own room seems full of fearful things like those giant bugs in the bushes and the octopus-tentacled terrors under the manhole.

And when Dad comes home late from work, he hears Nick, still twisting and turning in his bed.

"Bad dreams, buddy?" Dad asks quietly.

Nick whispered, "I lost my dinosaur.

He's the brave one. Not me."

"Let's go find him then," said Dad.

There are many things Dad could have said at that moment, sensible things, like "You can look for it in the morning," or "Don't be silly. It's just a plastic toy". But he didn't. What he said was the absolutely right thing at the right time, in Jennifer Choldenko's insightful salute to fatherhood, Dad and the Dinosaur (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2017).

In a late-night expedition that Dad describes only as "guy stuff" to Mom, Little Nick learns from Big Nick that all guys get scared sometimes, and that just goes with the territory. Newbery winner Gennifer Choldenko's sensitive narration tells the sweet story of what dads do best, and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's usually bold and avant garde style is muted in his warm illustrations of an ordinary Everyfamily, with more sober and ominous dark tones to evoke Nick's frightful imaginings. Santat also utilizes a huge, shadowy T. Rex overlay on his pages as a sort of reassuring spirit animal that confers a dose of courage when Nick needs it. As Publishers Weekly puts it in their starred review, "Dads get it... being brave takes work and ... a dinosaur." And having a good dad helps, too.

Gennifer Choldenko earned her Newbery Medal for Al Capone Does My Shirts (Tales from Alcatraz), (read my review of her complete Tales of Alcatraz novels here), and Dan Santat took his Caldecott for The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. (read review here).

Nobody's Perfect? The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubenstein

For Beatrice Bottomwell, Friday begins just like any other day.

She matched her socks.

She made a sandwich for her brother Carl's lunch. She used exactly the same amount of peanut butter and jelly.

She's does it all just right, with a smile.

But Beatrice has an unusual problem. She has never, in her admittedly short life, done anything wrong. (Her Number Two pencils have impeccably perfect pink erasers, never used.) Her fans and curious news media folks question her closely every morning on her way to school. No, she didn't forget to make up her bed. Nope, she didn't forget her homework. She's famous as the Girl Who Never Made Mistakes.

It's actually a burden that weighs heavily on Beatrice's shoulders. In cooking class in school that day, she has quite a fright.

At school Beatrice was on on a cooking team with her best friends, Millie and Sarah. Beatrice went to get four eggs when... she slipped. The eggs went flying! Beatrice was about to make her first mistake.

But she didn't. She caught one in her mouth, two in her hands, and one with her right foot.

It is an amazing catch--a perfect catch, really. But to Beatrice, it is too close for comfort. Her confidence is blown.

And coming up that night is the school talent show, and Beatrice is set to do her juggling act--with water balloons, yet. The pressure is on, and if Beatrice drops one, it's going to be a doozie!

KABLOOOOOIE!

When Beatrice makes a mistake, it's a perfectly spectacular, in Mark Pett's and Gary Rubenstein's The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes (Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, 2016), and it's actually a great relief for Beatrice. Being perfect is quite a responsibility and Beatrice Bottomwell's comedown and resulting release from her own perfection is unmistakable! Like King Midas and his perpetual golden touch, Beatrice finds that keeping up perfection is no fun. Says School Library Journal, "Pett's beady-eyed cartoon illustratons are expressive and winsome, a perfect complement to this story of a girl finding out that it's okay to be imperfect."