Oh, Daddy by Bob Shea

*Picture book for preschoolers through first graders (younger picture book)
*Young hippo as main character
*Rating: I’m a huge fan of Bob Shea. I love Dinosaur VS Bedtime. This book is super cute, too, and it has something for parents and kids–I’m always a big fan of those.

Short, short summary: This young hippo has one smart (and fun!) daddy. Young hippo doesn’t want to do what he is supposed to, like get dressed or get into the car when it’s time to go to Grandma’s. So, Daddy pretends like he doesn’t know how to get in the car or get dressed, and his son must show him how. Of course, young hippo loves this, and Daddy gets his goal accomplished, too without a fight. (HMMM, is Bob Shea trying to tell us something here as parents/teachers or what?) Oh, Daddy also shows parent and child having fun together, like with the hose and giving each other plenty of hugs. It’s a great daddy/kid book!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Kids will want to share all sorts of fun things they can do with their daddies or mommies or grandparents like the hippos do in the book. You can turn this into a shared writing activity with the sentence stem: With my mommy (daddy,etc), I like to __________________________. Students can write the whole sentence and illustrate it.

2. Discuss with your students/children things that they help adults do either at home or at school, similar to the young hippo in the book. Make a list of all the things that they can do and hang it up.

3. The illustrations in this book are so wonderful. Children should take time to study them and discuss them, especially all the crazy things Daddy does.