Daddy's Zigzagging Bedtime Story - Hardcover

K-Gr 2 It's bedtime and Daddy has the perplexing task of satisfying both Jenny and Jake with a goodnight story. The kids are very picky and dismiss his selections as the same old same old they've heard a thousand times before. Daddy comes up with the solution to invent a story of his own. He pleases both children by alternating the story line. The pretty princess, accompanied by a cupcake-baking unicorn, is the heroine of the tale. Before Jake can settle into a funk, Daddy makes sure that the princess drives a flying monster truck and battles the evil Space Aliens of Doom. The children cheer as Daddy gets carried away with his own creation. He throws in the space alien's "Kung-Fu Cabal of Sneezing Pigs" that begins "to launch missiles filled with corn and the eyeballs of dead spiders" vs. the princess's "surprise black-belt ballet-slipper spinning-thermonuclear side rumple-dumple kick." Fans of Kevin O'Malley's Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude (Walker, 2005) will find that this book hits the same humorous notes for a slightly younger clientele. Carter's illustrations are light and airy, executed in washes of watercolor and squiggly lines. Children will get a kick out of Jenny and Jake's expressions as they vary between delight and disgust. A fun and rousing addition. Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA SLJ"

When Jake and Jenny say they are bored with all their books and retold tales, their father makes up a new bedtime story about a princess who drives a monster truck, battles aliens and is aided by a cupcake-baking unicorn. 35,000 first printing.