HELPING DADDY

A youngster tries very hard to keep up as Daddy does his chores.

Cooking, cleaning, and tending the garden: The list of household tasks seems endless. But tall, bearded Daddy cheerfully completes each one. A child toddling around in star-covered pajamas is inspired to do the same. As Daddy does laundry, the little one joins in. But taking folded clothes out of the basket is much more fun. When Daddy prepares a meal, the toddler cooks, too (surprising no one, the cat ends up with a bag of flour on its head). Somehow, the little one’s “help” always result in more work. But Daddy is patient and loving. Dike’s spare, repetitive phrasing makes a sweet read-aloud. “Daddy is doing laundry. Me too! Daddy is cleaning.” Then, a new chore: “Daddy is planting. Me too! Daddy is cleaning.” It forces a close inspection of the illustrations to see what the silly youngster is up to (and, subsequently, what Daddy needs to clean next). Glenn’s unassuming pastel backdrops let the father-child relationship take center stage and shine. The tale comes to a lovely conclusion; a day filled with domestic duties has clearly exhausted this industrious little one, and the child snuggles up with Daddy as he reads a story. Both characters are Black.

A delightful day of unbridled love.