‘DANDY’ written by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Charles Santoso

This is a firm favourite in my house at the moment, particularly with my youngest little girl, Caitlin. It is both full of sentiment but also lots of humour.

The story centres around a daddy lion who takes great pride in his perfectly manicured green lawn only to discover when a dandelion pops up he is unable to remove it without upsetting his little girl, Sweetie, who has named the flower, Charlotte. What follows is a hilarious comedy sketch between daddy, who tries to destroy the weed with a jackhammer, a cannon, and more, but Sweetie foils his efforts at every turn. When Sweetie finally is out of the picture, at swimming lessons, daddy lion sees his chance! Will he take it I hear you ask? I highly recommend you find out by reading this beautiful book.

This isn’t your typical, daddy hero story, it is so much more than that! Ame Dyckman writes with an astuteness about human relationships and manages to tackle big emotions with well placed comic timing both making the story relatable and laugh out loud at the same time. This book is one of those stories that will be read over and over by children offering many nights of amusement both to the parent as well as the child. It would make a great gift for a dad at Christmas!