That's Not Fair

May 20, 2024
A girl simmering with resentment corners her father with a list of complaints in this work from Yoshitake (I Can Open It for You), who pictures the father’s inventive answers in customarily compact line drawings. “How come adults get to stay up very late, but kids have to go to sleep early?” the child demands. “I can’t say it very loudly,” the father replies, but “at night,
in preparation for Christmas, Santa Claus’s investigators come and check on whether kids are going to sleep early.” In the accompanying illustration, three mustachioed elves arrive at the door as the child snoozes. A string of humorous fantasies follows: if the child doesn’t take a bath when the parent says it’s time, the Bath Monsters will use all the hot water; parents blame the older child for a younger sibling’s misdeeds because “royalty really likes when big kids protect their younger siblings.” (A vignette shows a passing queen on a horse: “This girl is great! Let’s invite her to the castle!”) Though the story lacks the attention to the child’s own insight that distinguishes Yoshitake’s best work, sweetly comic line drawings add verve and warmth to the father’s takes. Characters read as East Asian. Ages 5–8.

August 1, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 This is a book for any kid who's wondered why they have to go to bed early when adults get to stay up, or why their parents get to decide what they watch on TV. As the protagonist asks their dad to explain certain rules that they find unfair, he gives fantastical answers (early bath time means the Bath Monsters don't use up all the hot water) and answers that can be goofy and a bit crass (he can't play at the moment because he's holding in a fart). Yoshitake has done a great job of capturing the frustration of a kid not understanding adults' rules but understanding very clearly that they are being asked to live by them. Though the book starts at a place of frustration and disconnect for the protagonist and their dad, it ends in a place of love and, if not complete understanding, definitely a place of empathy.

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October 1, 2024
She's mad as heck, and she's not gonna take it anymore! "Daddy! I have some complaints!" Silly daddy/daughter dynamics are in full swing in this entry in the Yoshitake oeuvre, following the most recent and equally funnyI Can Open It for You (2023) andI Can Explain (2022). In this latest, the jig is up! A young child bursts into her father's room and systematically sets about seeking answers to an incredible list of unfair situations she's suffered at the hands of adults. Trouble is, whenever she confronts her father, he always has a goofy answer. Why can't kids stay up late? Because Santa sends investigators throughout the year to make sure kids go to bed early. For every question she asks, he produces an increasingly fantastical response. And, lest we forget, kids can be unfair, too! The two reach a d�tente by the story's close, but the lists of grievances will surely inspire some young readers to come up with objections and ridiculous answers of their own. As ever, Yoshitake's minimalist yet expressive cartoons and comedic timing are on point. Even the endpapers are in on the game, showing problems at the front and a happier relationship between the girl and her dad at the end. Characters have skin the white of the page. Life may not be fair, but at least we have books like this to soften the blow.(Picture book. 4-6)

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