My Dad Can Do Anything

Stephen Krensky and Mike Wohnoutka's My Dad Can Do Anything is a proud, puffed-up picture book for 5 year olds, told by a child who's completely sure their dad is the best.

What happens

According to our narrator, there's nothing Dad can't manage. He'll put his head in a lion's mouth. He'll hunt for buried treasure and hack through the jungle on a hot afternoon.

He's sporty AND artistic. He puts out fires in a minute and catches criminals in the act. Giants, dragons and aliens don't bother him one bit.

Is any of it true? That's the fun of it. (It's a child's-eye view, and that's probably exactly how a dad looks from down there.)

There's a softer side too. On very dark nights he scares away the monsters under the bed, which is one job plenty of real dads do. And the last lines turn the whole thing round in a way that's really rather sweet.

It's very short, one boast at a time, which makes it perfect before lights out.

What to read next

If they like a story with a dad at the heart of it, I Want My Dad! comes at it from the other side. The Little Princess is convinced her dad, the King, is useless next to all the other dads in the palace.