When Dads Don’t Grow Up

It’s a lucky kid, writes Parker, who has a father who never grew up. These fathers understand how to have fun with their kids because they “remember what it’s like to be little.” They know that “pancakes weren’t meant to be round,” they “aren’t worried about looking goofy,” and “they love to mix up the words in bedtime stories.” Alley fills his watercolors—which range from spot art to full spreads—with humorous details: one father throws a rock in a fountain, splashing a nearby woman, and another crashes a shopping cart into a shelf of cans. Parker lovingly portrays playful, imaginative, and inventive fathers who bring joie de vivre to parenting. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)