A turning of the tables and charming artwork set this warm and funny bedtime book apart from its kin.
In the beginning, the tale seems familiar, both to the narrator and to readers--but don't let that fool you. "My dad is big and strong, but every night it's the same old story," says a child sporting a cornflower-blue crewneck. The boy's father towers over him in a white collared shirt, black tie and wool hat. A clock says 9:00. "I don't want to go to bed!" reads a message taped onto the wall.
We might assume that's the boy's sentiment, but we would be wrong. "At first, I try to be nice: 'Dad, I say, it's already quite late.' " A clock on the table shows 9:45. Father swaps roles and adopts a childish rant, "No no no, I won't go to sleep!" The boy's promise of a story brings Dad down from the chandelier where Di Giacomo shows him hanging by one foot. As the man begs for "One more story pleeease" on bended knees, readers will erupt in giggles while Dad holds his son captive, high in the air, then lays prostrate on the floor. Saudo gets the inflections just right in her parent-child turnabout, and Di Giacomo exploits the situation's comic possibilities. The limited palette of gray teals, warm browns and bare whites play up the nighttime contrasts and the father's vulnerability: children discover that even big, strong dads can be afraid of the dark. A guaranteed bedtime winner. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness