DAD, AREN’T YOU GLAD?

Good-intentioned mayhem follows in the wake of a little boy’s attempt to make his father’s day a special one. Plourde keeps the action flowing and the text simple: “Dad, aren’t you glad I’m such a good house painter?” Alert: Tell young readers they are not to attempt these stunts in their own homes, like taking out the trash (tearing the bag), washing the dog in the bathtub (flooding the bathroom), pouring the milk in the cereal (flooding the kitchen) and, indeed, painting the outside of the house. Wummer’s illustrations clearly render fiasco leading to fiasco (deftly offering the counterpoint to the boy’s stated goals), Dad getting more droopy-eyed, even the dawning in the little boy that this may not have been his father’s easiest day. No surprises in this old tale of a helping hand run amuck, but quick fun, and just brimming with bad ideas ready for insertion in kids’ melons. (Picture book. 3-5)