Daddy drives a bit red tanker truck and he’s on the road a lot. But today is a special day – he’s going to pick his son up at nursery school. All day, as he plays, the little boy is excited at the prospect of seeing his daddy but will he make it on time?

The first page of this book serves to establish the scenario. It depicts a number of photographs of the key protagonists – Daddy, the little boy, the truck and a number of maps. From this we get an immediate sense of the importance of the father/son relationship and also recognise the premise of the tale. Daddy’s job takes him away a lot and this little boy is looking forward to being collected by him at the end of the day. And so the doublespreads lead the reader on a journey; the left page tracking Daddy’s progress, whilst the right page follows the boy’s day. For him every minute is taken up with imagining how close Daddy is and the excitement is evident in his charmingly innocent facial expressions.

Although we see something of the father’s emotions via the illustrations and the odd speech bubble, the text is primarily narrated in the child’s voice, with his thoughts accompanying both strands of the story. This is a jaunty rhyme which becomes broken at the point where it looks as though Daddy will not arrive and is resumed once more following the reunion.

Watercolour, crayon and pencil are used to create moods which vary from reassuring and softly drawn scenes, such as that where father and son finally meet, to the rougher use of crayon during the more difficult parts of Daddy’s journey. Thus the media used for each illustration varies according to the atmosphere Carol Thompson wishes to evoke.

Naturally, this story will hold particular significance for children whose situation mirrors the boy’s but it should not be disregarded for others. Young children eagerly anticipate seeing loved ones and this is a good book to snuggle up with and share with someone special at bedtime.

2010-03-03