THE TROUBLE WITH DAD

by Babette Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 1986

A wacky book about Dad's hobby--making robots--and its calamitous results. ""The trouble with Dad is his boring job,"" begins this hilarious book by British author/illustrator Cole (The Trouble with Mom). ""If he didn't have such a boring job, he wouldn't spend all his spare time in the shed making robots."" Dad creates all sorts of mechanical helpers: a giant rabbit with enormous teeth to trim the lawn; strange contraptions that ""help in the house""; a ""robotic hush-a-bye baby improver"" that swings baby happily around in a huge circle high above the living room; a robot for catching jewel thieves; even a soccer team so good they make it to the play-offs. When BBC-TV decides to Prim Dad's robots, things go haywire (helped by the baby getting hold of the ""multi-laser-twister-operator"") and the robots run amok. By the time Dad stops them and pays for the damage, the robots have become famous, and a very rich Arab sheik buys them and carts them off to the desert in Arizona to exhibit as ""works of art"" (pictured is a typical opening, complete with wine and critics). Dad and his family become rich, so that ""Dad didn't have to do his boring job any more. Now we both make robots."" Although first published in England in 1985, the humor of both the text and the illustrations, with their multitudinous details, is international and should be widely popular.

Pub Date: March 6, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1986

Categories: CHILDREN'S