Tell Me Another Story Dad is a work of fiction for children in the form of a picture book, written by author Julie Hodgson with illustrations by artist Irene Czusz. Intended to be a read-along experience for a young child with their parent or guardian, this charming tale explores the mind of the child when going to bed, when they want to hear just one more story and imagine magical things with their father. What results is a swift and poetic journey through different ideas of amazing stories, ones which may indeed prompt youngsters to engage in more storytelling and imagination of their own.

Picture books often vary in quality, and I was delighted to see that the illustrations provided by artist Irene Czusz were absolutely out of this world beautiful. Every page is filled with dynamic and ethereal colors as the ideas from the different stories come to life. When this is coupled with author Julie Hodgson’s accessible and lyrical rhymes, the premise comes to life beautifully. Though this particular book does not have a specific story plot beyond the idea of a child and their father bonding through imagination, the ideas that spring from each bright page certainly have a fantastic potential to spark imagination and have kids coming up with their own tales of dragons, pirates and monsters because of it. I think this is a highly valuable quality in a well-produced book, and overall I would certainly recommend Tell Me Another Story Dad as a delightful and inspiring read-together experience.

Tell Me a Story Dad by Julie Hodgson is a short book for very young children written in rhyming couplets, two to a page. It recounts all the topics of the stories the little boy has heard his father tell him before. He lists the different subjects and mentions ghosts, pirates, magic castles, princesses, spaceships, dragons, and other mythical beasts. There are ten pages in all, each fully illustrated with delightful pictures. In each one, the little boy is asking his father to tell him a story. He is already in bed and it suggests that this is a nighttime ritual. The young child asks for a made-up story, not one written in a book. It suggests that his father is an excellent storyteller.

Julie Hodgson’s Tell Me a Story Dad is a lovely book illustrated with humor and a variety of characters, all stars of the stories the little boy has been told previously by his father. It will delight very young children and may also encourage parents and carers to not only read from books but also to make up tales to help little ones go to sleep. It has long been a ritual for a story at bedtime, and this book is a reminder that such time is precious for bonding with children, sharing something special and unique to that family. It is to be hoped that this book will encourage parents to think of tales to tell their little ones, even re-worked stories from their own childhood which will allow the young listeners to use their own imaginations. I see this book as having two goals. One to amuse and entertain children but also to encourage storytelling by the parent or carer. We all have stories inside us we may not even be aware of.

Tell Me Another Story Dad by Julie Hodgson, with illustrations by Irene Czusz, is a children's picture book wherein a young child is asking their father for a bedtime story, not from a book but from the father's own imagination. The narrative is written in rhythmic, four-line quatrain stanzas and is entirely in the first person, the point of view being of the child as they lie in bed. The father is standing at the door as the child runs through many of the stories their dad has created in the past, which include a descriptive mix of tales of piracy, dragons, witches, ghosts, monsters, just to name a few. With each page, the storyline is depicted with brightly colored illustrations that bring the words to life.

Tell Me Another Story Dad offers a nice take on the nightly ritual that many children enjoy with their parents as they slip into their beds. I found the fact that the child was asking not to be read a book in a book we would be reading to our own little ones to be a creative bit of irony. Overall, Julie Hodgson's story is good enough to overlook any slight issues of syntax. Where this book well and very truly shines is in its spectacularly colorful illustrations. Irene Czusz is a wildly talented artist, depicting the imagination of the child in punches of deliciously deep blues, vibrant greens, and all the elements that a gifted illustrator puts into a picture book that both parents and their children will enjoy.