Driving Daddy
Reviewed with Hope Vestergaard'sWake Up, Mama!PreS-Gr. 1. These pint-size companion books will delight active toddlers. InDriving Daddy, a young boy rides to the park on his father's shoulders. Vestergaard uses driver-themed language to describe the journey, including occasional onomatopoeia ("Vroom, vroom!") and simple similes ("His hands hold you like a seat belt."). But Dad sprints right by the swings. The boy protests, but his objections subside when he realizes, "Daddy's got a secret plan. / Something good's around the corner. . . / Here that music? Ice-cream man!" A journey of another sort takes place inWake up, Mama!Dad places his young son at the foot of sleeping Mom's bed. From there, the child climbs up "Mama Mountain," past her piggies, around her knees, over the hill that is her hip, and so on until, "Here's the top of Mama Mountain! Wake up, Mama! No more rest! Kiss her, hug her, make her giggle. Baby wake-ups are the best!" The playful rhyming language is short and sweet, just right for the young target audience, and Courtin's childlike illustrations are also on the mark, providing comforting scenes of tender family fun that youngsters will page through on their own.Lauren PetersonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved