NO, I WANT DADDY!

Brun-Cosme offers a keen examination of how one family member’s demeanor can upset the emotional balance of the household. Take one exhausted mother, add an exuberant child, save for later an unsuspecting father, shake—and you have a scenario that will be very familiar to young readers and their adults. When Anna returns from school, her mother’s bad mood quickly deflates her own buoyant one. In reaction to a barrage of “no” answers, Anna retaliates in true tot style by switching her allegiance to Daddy. For the rest of the evening, she spurns all advances made by her mother. But Anna knows something’s missing: the generous apology that comes from Mama validates Anna’s emotions, while allowing for a heart-felt reconciliation. Backès’s heavily pigmented illustrations have a spare quality that allows readers to focus on the message. His simply etched backgrounds keep reader’s attention focused on the fox characters’ emotions conveyed by their expressions and body language. A comforting balm to puzzled tots and their over-tired parents for readers younger than those of Charlotte Zolotow’s classic The Quarreling Book. (Picture book. 3-6)