Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
My Dad’s Job
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Simon and Schuster, 2003 ISBN: 978-0689828904
Many of us never really learn what it is that our Dads do for a living. Where do they go each day? What do they mean when they say that "so-and-so was bought up yesterday." We are not alone. In this book the hero, a small red-headed boy, has the same problem. He hears his father talk about his being on a "great team" and fighting "a hostile takeover."
In warm, living watercolor pictures we see what the boy imagines these words to mean and it is not what they mean in that strange place called "The Business World." He sees his father on a soccer team. He also sees his father as a brave warrior battling barbarian enemies. All of his father's buzz words are taken literally and the boy puzzles over it. Finally the boy can stand it no longer. He has to find out what his father really does do at work and he asks to be taken to the office the next day. Being a good and thoughtful father Dad agrees. We are all ready for our hero to get the disappointment of his life when something extraordinary happens and it is us who really finds out about Dad's job.
With a delightful twist, this is a tale which will appeal to the young and the young-at-heart alike. The young can keep their dreams and the young-at-heart are reminded that they should not forget theirs.
