Grapefruit, Anyone? Every Night Is Pizza Night by Kenji Lopez-Alt

"TONIGHT IS PIZZA NIGHT. SO WAS LAST NIGHT. WE'RE MAKING PIZZA TOMORROW, TOO," THIS SCIENTIST SAYS.

"BECAUSE I'VE DONE THE TESTS! IT'S THE PIZZAGOREAN THEOREM!"

Pipo is a picky eater. She only eats pizza! Mr. Gonzalez at the grocery agrees pizza is tops. Pipo's papa pays him for the pizza ingredients and moans...

"I LONG FOR GRAPEFRUIT!"

Mom suggests other famous, fabulous foods:

Chicken pot pie? Chicken NOT pie.

Peking Duck? Peking--Yuck!

But finally Pipo agrees to do a neighborhood favorites taste test. She tries a bite of Eugene's mom's babimbap, fried egg on top and all!

Wow! It's plenty spicy and crispy, and pretty sensational. But better?

"I NEED MORE DATA!"

Pipo checks out Dakota's mama's red beans and rice. Uggh, they look like mud with beetles in it. But... Holy Pepparoni! Yumsome!

Then there's Farah's family's tagine. Who'd think apricots and chicken could be so good together! Dumplings from Ronny and Donny's food truck are like little purses of deliciousness. But better? Pipo has her emergency pizza slice in her pocket and does a comparison tast test! Hmmmm! It's close, but pizza is is still tops.

Pipo consults the food expert, Mr. Gonzales, who makes a Solomonic judgment:

"PIZZA IS THE BEST, BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY BEST!"

Any way you slice it and dice it, there's a difference in favorite food for every time, place, and taste, in Kenji Lopez-Alt's hilarious battle of the tastebuds, Every Night Is Pizza Night (Norton, 2020). Author Kenji Lopez-Alt's lively language creates a intrepid and inimitable young taster who knows what she likes, but admits, as Pete the Cat would say, "It's all good." It's all in good fun, too, in Lopez-Alt's testy taster's scientific study of foodstuffs, illustrated zestfully in artist Gianna Rogierro's busy pages, full of fun. And for holdouts in the favorite food department, the author has her protagonist provide a simple recipe for a family pizza, in which Pipo prefers a topping of oregano and Parmesan cheese, Mom comes down for Hawaiian, and Dad perhaps wonders how grapefruit would go as a topping!

"Bold, bright colors, dynamic illustrations, repetitive refrains, and catchy, well-paced text make this book utterly rereadable." Kirkus raves.

When Daddy Comes Home! My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

My papi has a motorcycle.

When I hear his gray truck pull into our driveway, I run outside with both of our helmets.

Papi is careful with my ponytail as he pulls my helmet tight.

Daisy feels so special, her arms wrapped around her father's chest, toodling around town, startling the cats and making dogs bark. They zoom past her grandmother's church and the market, where she exchanges nods with the librarian, and she waves at her grandparents in their front yard. Her friend calls out to her as she rolls past.

"DAISY!"

She looks sadly at the shop, now closed, where she and Papi used to stop for fruit-flavored ices, but as they head for home, there is a happy surprise!-- a fruit ices seller's cart with her favorite flavor, right in front of their house.

Time with Dad is special, in Isabel Quintero's portrait of family life in a friendly town, My Papi Has a Motorcycle (Penguin Books, 2019), so poignantly evoked in the warm and detailed illustrations of artist Zeke Pena. Sharing experiences is one of the many ways to be a good dad, and Pena's detailed and joyful illustrations make feelings between parent and child come alive. Says Booklist's starred review, "A heartwarming story that centers joy in the midst of looming change."