Baba Palooza

In a touching picture book, Ghani and Alam craft an exuberant ode to a working father’s love. Young Aizah loves riding in Baba’s “zingy yellow” cab, which makes the child feel like a movie star—“Baba in the driver’s seat, me in the back.” But the job’s long hours mean that Aizah’s father, who wears hearing aids and communicates via Pakistan Sign Language, often misses family dinner and school plays. And the protagonist notices that “sometimes Baba’s taxi makes him feel sticky with shame.” When Aizah realizes that Baba will have to work through a school daddy-daughter dance, the youth plans a spectacular “Babapalooza” celebration, including a special performance and an appreciative display of “all the cool things we’ve gotten to do because of his hard work.” Bright, thin-lined illustrations incorporate the taxi’s signature hue and images of the car on a proscenium stage in this powerfully affectionate portrait of care that goes two ways. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)