DRUTHERS

How much fun can be packed into a rainy day? Lots, if you’re like this energetic daughter-daddy duo.

Penelope is extremely bored on a day when it just won’t stop raining. When her daddy asks her her “druthers” and defines the expression—a lucky happenstance for her and young readers who’ll likely delight in trotting out this new word henceforth—Penelope offers up various possibilities: going to the zoo, being a cowgirl, helming a pirate ship sailing “to the island of dinosaurs” and flying to the moon. What an agenda—and what an imaginative, playful pair this child and her father are. Making the most of her vast array of toys and increasingly elaborate ideas and his seemingly never-ending supply of patience and creativity, don’t you know that dad leaps on every suggestion, and the two are off having a grand time—sound effects, props and all. Phelan’s gentle ink-and-watercolor illustrations are filled with rollicking activity, and the soft colors and outlines evoke the close, loving relationship. The book’s concept doesn’t break new ground, but this is a warm and fuzzy look at how much fun kids can have with game, fully supportive parents in their corners, and young listeners may pick up some new ideas for their own rainy days. Noticing all the potential for fun, they’ll probably agree with Penelope that if they really had their druthers… “it would rain tomorrow, too.”

Keep this for any day, not just a rainy one.