Flying by Kevin Luthardt

A little button-eyed boy is reading a book about birds. He dreams of flying and finally takes his question to the ultimate source: Dad. "why can't I fly?" he asks. In a series of silly questions and answers, Papa explains why people can't fly - usually!

The exuberant interaction between father and son is perfectly created. Anyone who's ever tried to answer a child's unanswerable questions will giggle over Papa's delightful solution and physical illustrations of his answers. The illustrations feature the two main characters on blank colored backgrounds with their dreams of flying set encased in wildly colored balloons. My only quibble is the final flying dream sequence goes on for too long and is liable to lose the attention of toddlers. But you can easily skip to the punchline at the end.

Verdict: We need more dad books! An excellent addition to a library collection.



ISBN: 978-1561454303; Published March 2009 by Peachtree; Borrowed from the library.