Jerry Spinelli - My Daddy and Me

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Text copyright 2003 by Jerry Spinelli
Illustrations copyright 2003 by Seymour Chwast
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Alfred
A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division
of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada
by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Distributed by
Random House, Inc., New York.
KNOPF, BORZOI BOOKS, and the colophon are registered trademarks of
Random House, Inc.
randomhouse.com/kids
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Spinelli, Jerry.
My daddy and me / Jerry Spinelli ; illustrated by Seymour Chwast.
p. cm.
Summary: A young boy describes the things he likes to do with his
father, including making music, baking cookies, and fixing things.
[1.

Fathers and sonsFiction.] I. Chwast, Seymour, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.S75663 Dad 2003
[E]dc21 2002009853
eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-79334-8
Gibraltar Library Binding ISBN 978-0-375-90606-1
Trade ISBN 978-0-375-80606-7 v3.1 To Nick and Patty
J.S.
Dedicated to the memory of my daddy, Aaron L. Chwast
S.C.

I cant wait for my daddy to come home from work.

There are so many things to do!
I sit at the window and when I see him I run outside. He swings me onto his shoulders. Hey! he calls to Mrs. Jones. Whos this cowpoke riding me?
I run to the car. I want to drive! I say.

Okay, driver,he says, lets go to Kalamazoo. I toot that horn and turn that wheel and thats just what I do right there in the driveway I drive us to Kalamazoo!
Sometimes I dont run to greet him at all. I hide behind the sofa or in a closet or in the hamper. But no matter where I hide, he always finds me. How does Daddy do that?
I say to my daddy, What did you bring me? Sometimes he pulls out an apple or a toy and sometimes he says, I brought you me!
Daddy and I wrestle on the living room rug. I pin him.

Youre too strong for me, he says.
Cookie time! Daddy calls. We make a mess in the kitchen. We might make chocolate chip or peanut butter, but my favorites are gingerbread men.
We plant tomatoes in the garden. Daddy lets me dig the holes.

Im good at that. Im good at eating too!
When the house breaks, we have to fix it. My job is to carry the toolbox and hand Daddy the hammer. He says Im his best helper.
Daddy gives me a haircut in the bathroom. It tickles.

Then I say, Okaymy turn to be the barber. But Daddy runs away!
My daddy should be a clown. When he puts on his funny face, its like having my very own circus! He walks like a penguin and talks like a duck. I pull on his nose and tickle his toes and he does the same to me!
Im Boy of the Day! Daddy says we can go anywhere I want. Funny thingeven though I can go anywhere I want, the only place I really, really want to be is right here in Daddys lap.
Daddy is teaching me to stand on my head.

Pretty soon Ill be able to do it all by myself.
When we go for a walk, we dont just walk we do fancy dance steps. Youd think my dad had twenty kids!
We play magic. I shake his hand and his arm falls off. I turn around and hes gone.
Work makes Daddy tired.
Work makes Daddy tired.

Sometimes hes too tired to play tag with me or to stand up straight. But never, ever is my daddy too tired to sing me a lullaby when its time for bed.