Daddy's Zigzagging Bedtime Story

K-Gr 2—It's bedtime and Daddy has the perplexing task of satisfying both Jenny and Jake with a goodnight story. The kids are very picky and dismiss his selections as the same old same old they've heard a thousand times before. Daddy comes up with the solution to invent a story of his own. He pleases both children by alternating the story line. The pretty princess, accompanied by a cupcake-baking unicorn, is the heroine of the tale. Before Jake can settle into a funk, Daddy makes sure that the princess drives a flying monster truck and battles the evil Space Aliens of Doom. The children cheer as Daddy gets carried away with his own creation. He throws in the space alien's "Kung-Fu Cabal of Sneezing Pigs" that begins "to launch missiles filled with corn and the eyeballs of dead spiders" vs. the princess's "surprise black-belt ballet-slipper spinning-thermonuclear side rumple-dumple kick." Fans of Kevin O'Malley's Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude (Walker, 2005) will find that this book hits the same humorous notes for a slightly younger clientele. Carter's illustrations are light and airy, executed in washes of watercolor and squiggly lines. Children will get a kick out of Jenny and Jake's expressions as they vary between delight and disgust. A fun and rousing addition.—Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA