Giddy-Up, Daddy!

The childhood game of “horsey” leaps into outlandish territory as a bespectacled, bald, and very accommodating father eagerly bounds about with his daughter and diapered son riding on his back. The rambunc-tious narrative reads like a spaghetti Western: “He was sure-footed on any terrain—carpet, hardwood, or linoleum,” writes Cummings. “He could scoop up his kids and take them from bed to breakfast before the toast popped up. And he hardly ever bucked.” When two horse rustlers lure Dad away with sugar cubes, it’s up to the kids to rescue him from the rodeo, after which their adventures take them to the Kentucky Derby, a polo match, the circus, and exotic—Canada. With digital cartoons that capitalize on each twist and turn (and play up the dad-as-horse jokes at every opportunity), Cummings delivers a boisterous tribute to devoted fathers. Ages 2–5. Agent: Ronnie Ann Herman, the Herman Agency. (Apr.)