want to go out as a clown.
So I made my own costume.
I became a vampire with
blood dripping from my fangs.
"Hey, Dad, look!" I made scary noises and gnashed my teeth. Dad swiveled in his easy chair. He looked at me over his glasses and sighed. Very nice," he said and went back to reading the Clown Times."
Our narrator is not thrilled when invited to his friend Teddy's birthday party. There is a clown. That clown is named Happy and is astute with creating balloon creatures. The party goers love the things he makes. The surprise comes when we learn that the clown is the boy's father.
Not keen that his father doesn't have a 'regular job', the boy decides he isn't enamored of clowns or the life they live. It wasn't so when he was a younger child. Then, he liked watching his dad prepare for his work, and considered himself lucky to have a dad who was also a clown. In fact, the boy often dressed just like his dad for Halloween. But things are changing.
Business has slowed right down for a working clown. When his father puts a sign on their lawn offering his services, the boy is embarrassed.
"But the sign didn't bring in any new business.
At dinner one day, Dad made an announcement.
"There's just not enough work for a clown anymore.
I'm going to have to go back to my old job."
"You had an old job?" I asked.
"Before you were born, son."
"What was it?"
"I was a lawyer."
His son is astonished. He tries to tell his friend Teddy that having a lawyer for a dad, not a clown, feels weird. Teddy is asleep and doesn't hear him. He begins to worry about whether his dad is truly happy anymore. Can he turn things around, and make his dad's world a happier place?
This story warms my heart. Readers will enjoy the mixed media images created by Milan Pavlovic. The colors are bright, the expressions clear, and the setting effective at every turn. This is perfect fare for kids who want a longer book to read. Well told, and illustrated to help with context, they will like the success they feel when reading it independently.
The final spread offers a chuckle.
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