Meet the Parents by Peter Bently (review)

This British import celebrates in rhymed verse the many wonderful things parents do for their children. The laundry list of reasons is notably kid-centered, with parents serving as everything from “grandstands to make you grow tall” to “towels for wiping your grime on,” from “hunters for toys that you left in the roses” to “lovely big heaters for warming your hands on.” Much of the humor is clearly aimed at the grownups reading aloud, who will undoubtedly find themselves chuckling at some of the interpretations (such as the suggestion that the father, who is carrying three kids clad in cowboy costumes, is “a horse,” while Mom, who ends up carrying the groceries, the coat and teddy bear, and eventually the child and scooter, is “a donkey”). Ogilvie’s mixed-media illustrations (pencil, pastel, ink, paint, monoprint, and digital) depict a multicultural cast of satisfied children and exhausted but happy parents. While some spreads feature a single family, many offer snapshots of multiple groupings, and there is plenty to pore over in the playful compositions. This isn’t the most original of jokes, but there is a nice blend of humor and affection to carry the narrative, and young listeners will readily identify with the child-centric perceptions presented in this entertaining take on contemporary families.