Dave Hackett, Time For Bed, Daddy, University of Queensland Press, 29 July 2015, 32pp., $24.95 (hbk) ISBN 9780702253812
This is a charming look at the-oh-so-familiar bedtime routine with a humorous twist – the roles are reversed and it is the child putting the dad to bed. The text is a natural and playful dialogue between father and daughter, with narrative asides from the young girl to the reader.
“Time for your pyjamas. First your right arm. Then your wrong arm.’ That always makes Daddy laugh.”
The font echoes neat, childlike handwriting, with splashes of big, blue expressive words on most pages. Hackett’s big, bold, colourful cartoon illustrations in ink and acrylic on white pages are engaging and fill each page. He has taken advantage of different (even wonky) perspectives and the interplay between text and pictures creates comic irony- it’s like one big warm dad joke to share over and over. Guaranteed to have kids and adults laughing out loud to familiar yet cheekily parodied routines – complete with toilet humour – as they snuggle into bed.
The story is perfectly wrapped in a cover of pale blue and white pyjama style stripes, extending the bedtime motif, with big, glossy cartooned images of the dad and his daughter, with her shock of golden hair drawing attention to their loving relationship.
Time For Bed, Daddy would make a beautiful gift, perfect for Father’s Day and to share all throughout the year.
Reviewed by Debra Tidball