Funniest Dad in the world by Ed Allen
Ill. by Louis Shea. Scholastic Australia, 2017. ISBN 9781743817506
(Age 3-6) Highly recommended. Fathers. Humour. Ideal for Father's
Day, this very funny picture book will delight emerging readers and
littlies who listen to it being read aloud. Three baby creatures, an
emu, a frog and a rhinoceros, all think that their dad is the
funniest dad in the world. Each insists that their dad tells the
funniest jokes, while riding a unicycle and juggling pizzas and on
each double page spread they try to outdo each other with extremely
funny incidents.
The narrative is hilarious and each incident is outrageous. Starting
with just one line, "My dad's the funniest in the world because . .
." each time the little animal comes up with a new reason that it
has the funniest dad, this is added on and repeated until almost at
the end, where there are twelve lines that the young reader or
listener will easily be able to remember. Then there is a delicious
and unexpected twist at the end to further intrigue the reader.
The illustrations are also riotously funny. I especially loved the
rhinoceros, in a Hawaiian style shirt, riding a unicycle and
juggling pizzas and the drawing of the emu blowing a bubble out of
his nose, while high fiving a monkey, being tickled by a crocodile
on top of a whale is have everyone in stitches.
At the back there is a cardboard stencil trophy "To my funniest dad
in the world", which could be used by an individual child or copied
for more than one user.
Any father who has this book read to him will be hugely entertained
and children will have so much fun with the narrative and the
illustrations.
Pat Pledger