BIGGER THAN DADDY

Ziefert enters Charlotte Zolotow territory with an intimate bit of give-and-take between little Edward, who wishes he were bigger, and his father as they walk home from the playground, engage in a bit of playful role reversal (“ ‘You’ve been a bad boy,’ said Edward. ‘And you haven’t finished your juice.’ ”) and then get ready for bed. In distinctly childlike crayon-and-cut-paper pictures, Kreloff depicts the pair with light brown skin, frizzy hair and smiles. Young readers and listeners, whether from single-parent households like this or otherwise, will smile too. (Picture book. 4-6)