My Father Embarrasses Me

Young Mortimer Dunne has a problem. He's proud of his mother--a TV reporter--but his writer father ``does nothing--only hammers away at the typewriter and embarrasses his son.'' Furthermore, Dad dresses inappropriately, snores at PTA meetings, oversleeps when it's time to take his son to school and then--the ultimate embarrassment--wants to kiss him in front of the mortified Mortimer's classmates. This wise and witty tale of role reversal goes even further: when Dad can't find his clothes in the morning, his vexed offspring says, ``I've told you a thousand times . . . lay out your clothes before you go to bed!'' It comes as no surprise that father , not mother, enters a school baking contest--a competition that offers an amazing, scrumptious cake along with some unusual revelations from Dad. Shalev himself has cooked up a fine confection: he uses liberal portions of humor to serve up some splendid points about the intricacies of father-son relationships. The recipe is sweetened with Abolafia's comically homey pictures. Ages 4-7. (May)