The Daddy Store

Fed up with his “dumb” dad, Miltenburg’s young narrator decides to trade in his father for a fresher model at the Daddy Store. Unsurprisingly, none is a good fit: the boy’s first choice embarrasses him with vocal praise at the local pool (“You’re so talented!” he shouts. “You’ll go to the Olympics next year!”), the next is too competitive, and the third—a movie star—is generous with money but stingy with attention. Miltenberg’s story charts a predictable course, but she has fun with the premise, visually—the freshest part of the book may be the ad-flyer-style endpapers, which highlight the various fathers (“All sizes. All types”) available at the Daddy Store. Ages 4–up. (May)