DADDY GOES TO WORK

An urban father takes his young daughter to work. The story is told in the first-person voice of the unnamed little African-American girl, who is already standing over her parents’ bed when the alarm clock goes off at seven a.m.—she can’t wait to see Daddy’s office. He makes a nice breakfast of French toast before the duo sets off on the subway. Bright watercolors, employing a broad palette and full of precise details, depict many highlights of the day’s adventure: meeting all of Daddy’s coworkers, getting lunch at a food cart on a street in Chinatown, watching Daddy give a sales presentation in the conference room. Pictures effectively evoke the day from start to finish. Unfortunately, the lackluster text, full of awkward rhymes, is not up to the quality of the illustrations and contributes little. Read the pictures and skip the words. (Picture book. 3-6)