WHY I LOVE MY DAD

This little girl's dad may not be able to do some things, but he's good at what he can do.

"My dad can't fly, / but he can fly a kite. // My dad can't roller-skate, / but he can ride a scooter," and so on. Rather illogically, after three more identically patterned statements, she concludes, "And that's why I love my dad... / and I know that he loves me...." Four pages of prompts that follow offer children the opportunity to personalize the book ("use a felt-tip pen, ballpoint pen, gel pen, crayon, or pencil for best results"). Bland watercolors of the same Caucasian dad failing or succeeding comically in front of his onlooking daughter accompany but do not elevate the text. The arbitrariness of the pairings (this dad "can't shoot hoops"; he "hulahoops" instead) is off-putting and is more likely to prompt argument than recognition in young readers. Aside from demonstrating that this dad is no handyman, the book does little to bust stereotypes, and the unvarying whiteness of the characters is another missed opportunity. A companion title, Why I Love My Mom, is equally undistinguished.

Pap created for a Hallmark holiday—nothing more.