Daddy’s Girl

In this resolutely cheery story, a girl welcomes her father as the guest of honor at her tea party, a time-honored playroom tradition. The girl, who narrates, dons her sparkly finest for the occasion, and her father follows suit, allowing his daughter to dress him up with a paper crown and boa. It isn’t a story with much emotional range—James’s honeyed verse sticks to the girl’s gushy sense of excitement and gratitude for her father’s participation: “Teas and cakes we’ll each have some—/ Sip, sip, sip, and yum, yum, yum!” Likewise, Corke’s cozy paintings aren’t especially distinctive, but they certainly convey the tenderness shared between father and daughter. Ages 4–7. (Apr.)