Bluey: My Dad is awesome by Bluey and Bingo

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Penguin Random House Australia, 2020. ISBN: 9781760899400.
(Age: Preschool - 6) Recommended. Just in time for Father's Day, My dad is awesome is sure to appeal to young children and would be a perfect gift for dad that could be shared by the whole family. Bluey and Bingo take turns sharing great things about Bandit, their awesome dad. He plays funny games with them, including being an out-of-control robot and a big stinky baboon. He is helpful and will do anything for them because he loves them.
The outstanding feature of this book are the humorous illustrations. I loved the pictures where Bluey and Bingo are copying Bandit and then not copying him. There are lots of moments in the book to stop and look at the drawings which will bring a smile to the face of any reader or child who is listening.
As well as the love that is so evident the whole way through the book, children are given an opportunity to see Bluey and Bingo sharing their ideas about their father. It was fun to read how they reminded each other to take turns and how they shared without arguing.
This would make a great read aloud and children could come up with lots of ways that show that their own dads are awesome, some like Bandit, some quite different. It is also in a format that would encourage emerging readers to pick it up and have a go at reading about familiar characters for themselves.
Pat Pledger

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