The Dad with 10 Children

by Bénédicte Guettier

Overview

For this hardworking dad, every day "counts." That's because he has 10 children—and that means 10 T-shirts, 10 mugs, 10 bowls of spaghetti, 10 in the bath, and 10 goodnight kisses! Now, the exhausted father needs ONE day off to rest. So he leaves his brood with grandma, builds a boat, and sails away. But by the end of this sweet story he realizes that something's missing—10 somethings, in fact!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781909645844
Publisher:	Salariya
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Series:	Big Picture Books
Pages:	42
Sales rank:	1,064,942
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 12.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Bénédicte Guettier is a published author and an illustrator of children’s books. She specializes in books for early years. Bénédicte and her daughter live in Paris, France.

Editorial Reviews

04/06/2015
Who says dads can’t have it all? Not Guettier (The Chicken Who Had a Toothache), who spins a peculiar story about a single father’s efforts to keep up with his 10 children. In bold, chunky illustrations, Guettier paints the kids as Kewpie doll–like bundles of energy, with goggling eyes and single hairs curling up from their heads; they’re distinguishable only by their brightly colored rompers. Her straightforward text recounts Dad’s busy day as he gets the kids fed, dressed, and off to school before heading to work himself. At dinnertime, she shows him busy at the oven, the children crowding around, hanging from light fixtures, and reaching for knobs on the stove. As they sleep, Dad keeps going, building a small sailboat. Time for a family trip? Not exactly: “Dad was planning to sail off on his own for at least 10 months, so he left them with their Grandma.” It’s a jarring moment (and Grandma looks less than thrilled about this development), though Guettier—and Dad—eventually reverse course to conclude with a nautical family reunion. Ages 2–5. (May)

Publishers Weekly

The sheer looniness of the premise—the 10 children are all apparently the same age, and there's no hint of a mom—will beguile young and old, and parents will feel Dad's paternal pain and passion with wry amusement. 1 dad + 10 tykes = sublime silliness.” ­­­—Kirkus

From the Publisher

2015-03-17
A single dad blessed (or cursed—mileage may vary) with 10 very young children builds a boat and sails away. The unnamed dad is capable beyond belief, preparing 10 breakfasts and then wrangling his wriggling issue into 10 shirts, 10 pairs of pants, 20 socks, and 20 shoes before dropping them off at school. He reverses his routine at night, closing the day with one story and 10 kisses—and then going to his workshop, where he is secretly building a boat. The tots are thrilled when it's finished but dismayed when Dad announces his intention of leaving them with Grandma while he sails solo "for at least 10 months." It only takes 10 days, though, before he gets lonely and returns to pack them all aboard for a family adventure. Guettier illustrates her daffy tale with bright blobs of gouache and thick, black lines. The dad and his kids are all Caucasian, the little ones mostly bald with little kewpie curls, and the illustrations take full advantage of the lack of individuation; they resemble a swarm more than children. The sheer looniness of the premise—the 10 children are all apparently the same age, and there's no hint of a mom—will beguile young and old, and parents will feel Dad's paternal pain and passion with wry amusement. 1 dad + 10 tykes = sublime silliness. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews