Dad books

A father and son share a white-water adventure. A dad turns a sick day into a special one. A child describes a father who is the biggest, strongest and smartest guy around.

June is a great month to celebrate fathers. Here are some new children's books that depict special relationships between dads and their children.

"My Dad" by Anthony Browne. My dad's bigger, faster, stronger, smarter . . . better than your dad. Browne turns the age-old boasting game heard on playgrounds around the world into a cleverly illustrated picture book. The father isn't afraid of anything. He can jump over the moon and walk on a tightrope. He's wise as an owl, happy as a hippo, soft as a teddy, and a brilliant singer and dancer, too. Browne's comical pictures marvelously illustrate the child's modestly exaggerated sentiments. The dad is a burly, regular-looking guy with a five-o'clock shadow, wearing blue-striped pajamas, red slippers and a brown plaid bathrobe -- no matter what he's doing. On some pages, he's pictured as an animal. When the child says, "My dad can eat like a horse, and he can swim like a fish," the horse and fish are dressed in brown plaid. (Farrar Straus & Giroux, all ages, 32 pgs., $16)

"The Sick Day" by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Jane Dyer. Emily wakes up with a stomachache in her head and a headache in her throat. Father, who works at home, feels her forehead, pronounces her "warm" and takes the day off to care for her. He finds her blanket, doll and stuffed animals (except for Moosie), and he puts her hair up in ponytails. He talks her tummy out of "swallowing up" and brings her clear soup. When she says "I can't eat this. I like my soup with something floating in it," he plops in a plastic giraffe.

After Father draws her a picture and plays her some Bach on the recorder, Emily decides that "It's fun being sick with you." The next day, Father finds out for himself when he wakes up with a fever and sore throat. The last picture shows Emily drawing him a picture.

This simple -- and simply lovely -- story first was published in 1979. It's been reissued with charming new illustrations by the talented Dyer. (Doubleday, ages 3 and up, 32 pgs., $12.95)

"White Water" by Jonathan and Aaron London, illustrated by Jill Kastner. Taking inspiration from a real-life rafting trip, Jonathan London, a prolific children's book author, and his son, Aaron, tell the exciting story of a white-water adventure on the Green River in Utah. Soon after father and son make camp with their group, the father in this story tells his son how much fun white-water rafting is. The son looks at the calm river and worries about what lies beyond the huge rock walls.

The trip begins the next morning, after "Wild Man Dennis" cooks up a hearty breakfast of pancakes, hash browns and bacon. They set out on a long stretch where the river is wide and lazy. As the rafts float along, and the people get hotter, the reader can feel the tension building as they near white water. The rafters hear it first, then the river quickens.

"All of a sudden the water was white, as if thousands of white rabbits were jumping around us. I clenched my teeth and fists as we whipped and spun and bounced on waves. That rapid was my first one and it sure was fun." The trip rolls along like a river. The rafters spot wild horses, take a swim in a still spot in the cold river and eat more meals cooked by Wild Man Dennis. The son learns how to read the river, and the raft he and his dad are in survives a near disaster against a rock. The story will ring true to those who've been white-water rafting. So will Kastner's action-filled paintings. She captures the blue-green of the water, the red of the cliffs, the bright rafts and life vests, and the frothy white rapids. (Viking, ages 4 and up, 32 pgs., $15.99)

"Ted" by Tony Diterlizzi. The dust jacket synopsis describes this as a story about "a father and a son and the big raspberry- colored, fun-loving, troublemaking best friend who brings them together." Ted shows up one day to befriend a lonely boy, whose father, as usual, is busy in his study. The boy feeds the rotund, floppy-eared creature some raspberries (Ted's favorite food), and they proceed to have a wonderful afternoon playing "Monopoly- Twister." When the boy tells his father about Ted, the father, looking over his glasses from behind stacks of paper, writes the big guy off as an imaginary friend.

Ted and the boy begin a campaign to get the father to believe in Ted and stop being "such a stuffy-pants." They paint huge pictures of Ted on the walls and run a hose into the father's study to make an indoor swimming pool. After the pool incident, the boy's father is furious and screams "I forbid you to ever play with Ted again! No more Ted! Ever!" Ted sadly leaves, returning to his home at the old playground. The next day, the boy is so lonely and sad he runs away to join him, leaving his father a note. What follows is a sweet reconciliation under the slide between father, son and Ted. Turns out Ted was his father's friend when he was young, too, only he called him Ned.

Of course, this story really is about the need for a father to spend time with his son. But it also is hugely funny and touching, too. Diterlizzi is the author of another fabulous picture book, "Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure." His wild illustrations are a bit reminiscent of those by William Joyce. (Simon & Schuster, ages 4 and up, 40 pgs., $16)

Don't forget two books reviewed earlier this year, both wonderful books about fathers:

"What Dads Can't Do" by Douglas Wood. This book makes it clear that what dads can't do says an awful lot about how much they love their children. "When dads play hide-and-seek, they always get found, but they have a hard time finding you." "Dads like to go fishing, but they don't like to go alone." "Dads can't read a book by themselves ...." Lively pictures by Doug Cushman of a dinosaur dad and son help illustrate the fun (and exhaustion) of parenting a young child. "No matter how tired a dad gets, or how hard life gets, a dad never quits. And most of all, whatever happens, a dad never ever stops loving you." Wood is the author of "Old Turtle" and "What Moms Can't Do." (Simon & Schuster, ages 3-8, 32 pgs., $14)

"Fishing in the Air" by Sharon Creech. A father and son set out early one morning looking for a cool river in which to fish. They leave when it's "blue-black" outside, stopping to dig up crawly worms. They pack the poles, worms and sandwiches in the trunk and take off. "`Look at those streetlamps,' my father said, `glowing like tiny moons all in a row.' And the lamps, which had been lamps, became in an instant, tiny moons all in a row."

Not much happens besides a fishing trip, but the love and warmth between the father and son shine through on every page. Two powerful forces combine to create this lyrical love story: Creech, who won the Newbery Medal for "Walk Two Moons," and illustrator Chris Raschka, who won a Caldecott Honor for "Yo Yes." (HarperCollins, ages 4-8, 32 pgs., $15.95)

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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