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A dad and daughter take pretending to an adorable extreme in this funny book that's perfect for Father's Day.
It's easy to be a tree. Just pretend your arms are branches, your body is a trunk, and your legs are roots. Don't move, even if a bird makes a nest on your head, a squirrel hides an acorn in your pocket, and a spider builds a web under your arm. It's OK: Trees don't mind those things. Or so says the little girl who persuades her father to be a tree all day long, no matter what, even in the rain! This silly and sweet picture book will inspire all kinds of imaginative play and is a tribute to parents who will do just about anything for their kids.
In this comic dialogue from Agee (Otto: A Palindrama), a child plotting to stay outside "all day long" invites a parent to engage in pretend play--as a tree. In response to young Madeleine's inducement to "pretend your arms are branches... and then stand in one place. Like this," Dad obediently spreads his arms wide, "but only for a minute." A page turn later, Agee's signature illustrations show a small gray owl landing on Dad's shoulder. Soon, more birds appear ("A robin is making a nest in your hair!"), and before long, Dad is closer to the outdoors than he had bargained for ("You are a very good tree!"). As the farce builds beyond believable proportions and into moments of hilarity--Dad develops "itches and tickles" from newly resident wildlife, withstands a stuck kite, and stands tall as the weather turns foul--Madeleine sagely proffers reassurances involving trees' nature: "That's OK, Dad. Trees don't mind getting wet." It's both a satisfying role-reversal comedy, as Madeleine cheerfully bulldozes hapless Dad, and a quirky meditation on the human capacity for transformation. The characters present as white. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.