Hiding Hoover

My kids love all books by Elise Broach. Hiding Hoover, like her others, expresses a real joie de vivre and is written in lyrical prose that makes it painless for parents to read the book over and over again, as our kids always demand. A particularly nice feature about Hiding Hoover is that its central (and only) adult character is a father, who is a very involved caregiver, shepherding his children effortlessly through their daily routines. Although at first the father comes across as a bit bumbling, he is not "obtuse" as the School Library Journal review above indicates. To the contrary, we discover at the end that he and Hoover (the dinosaur) have the last laugh, when the final page shows the father and Hoover toasting marshmallows with Hoover's breath after the kids have gone to bed. What we see here is a fun-loving, highly involved father whose love of life has nurtured his children's wonderful imaginations. Hiding Hoover has, in turn, nurtured my kids' own imaginations; they love to dream up new things that Hoover could do with his jagged tail or fiery breath. We are constantly on the lookout for new books by Elise Broach and regularly give her books as gifts. The vivid, humorous illustrations in Hiding Hoover are icing on the cake. Extremely highly recommended!