Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea

Oh, Daddy! by Bob Shea
Rating: 5 funny stars

Among the library books we brought home last week, this is definitely in Lorelei and Ben's top three.  Maybe the best of the bag! 

It's a simple little story of a father hippo trying to get his son to do something.  Using the classic trick of doing the desired thing wrong, the son laughs and shows his father how to do it correctly...and therefore does what his father actually wants him to do. 

For example, Dad Hippo comes in, "dressed" with a bucket on one foot, a boot on another, oven mitts on his hands, underwear on his head, and a flower pot on his head.  "Is this how you get dressed?" he asks his son.  "Oh, Daddy!" his son says, and shows him how to do it the right way.  The little hippo shows his dad how to get in the car, eat his lunch, water the flowers, and give a hug the right way. 

If you don't employ this tactic with your kid--and how could you not?!  It's the oldest trick in the book!--you should start now.  This book would probably help an obstinate kid for at least a few weeks...  The only drawback, and it's not a very big one, is that the little hippo says, "Easy peasy, mac and cheesy!" after showing his dad how to correctly get in the car.  Your child will, without a doubt, pick that up.  It doesn't bother me too much, though Lorelei has only repeated it six or seven times a day, not 50 or 100 times.

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