Viewers see the bad day beginning - with raisins from the oatmeal ending up on the ceiling. The playful troublemaker’s wild behavior increases with the addition of an unsuccessful bath, a no-clothes race, and a time-out. In an almost-cartoon-like style, the pencil and pen artwork is enhanced using digital media. Lots of white space and limited colors strengthen the young elephant’s naughty mischief making. This highlights the gap between the child’s delight and the father’s exasperation. When Little Jumbo the elephant sees his dad is “having a bad day,” he wonders how “to cheer up Dad.” Starting with a hug, the pair moves to playing catch. Sharing an ice-cream cone, and fishing together follow. Additional colors brighten the white and gray spaces with red, blue and yellow as the disturbances decrease. The day ends with reading a story and tucking dad in. But it’s NOT the end of the story. The final page’s artwork sets up the joke with new mischief: “I wonder how much cheering up he’ll need tomorrow . . .” Little Jumbo is worried about Dad. He needs some cheering up. Mostly as a result of what a toddler might do to cause a parent-sized headache…but Little Jumbo is still worried. When Little Jumbo can’t put Dad in a time-out to make Dad feel better, Little Jumbo really has to think about how to bring a smile to Dad’s face. This is a sweet book about a dad and his little elephant. Most parents and toddlers will find truth and humor in what happens in the book. And perhaps the laugh that the book brings will cause a little extra cuddle time for the Dads who are reading this story to their “little jumbos”. A fun book to read for Father’s Day.
What do You think about How To Cheer Up Dad (2014)?
A short and sweet book that would make a great read-aloud for a Father's Day story time.
—nicoleabu
VERY cute illustrations accompanied by some great dramatic irony for the adult reader.
—polett
