DAD AND POP

A cheery celebration of fathers and stepfathers’ dual roles in their children’s lives. In simple, declarative sentences, a little red-haired girl compares and contrasts her birth father (Dad) and stepfather (Pop): From physical differences (“Dad is tall. Pop is not”) to behavioral ones (“Dad’s into gadgets. / Pop’s into plants”), the two seem to have little in common. Even when they’re the same, they’re different: When “Dad teaches me to cook. / [And s]o does Pop,” the former bakes in a kitchen while the latter grills outdoors. Meisel’s sunny line-and-color illustrations make it clear, though, with warm familiarity, that whatever the differences between these two men, they both love their little girl without reservation. Wholly good-hearted, this small book demonstrates a sweetly child-centric ideal for divorced and blended families to aim at. (Picture book. 3-7)