My Side of the Car

My Side of the Car by Kate Feiffer
Illustrated by Jules Feiffer
2011

     Sadie has been wanting to go the zoo since forever.  Every time they had plans to go the zoo, something would come up:  her mom tripped over a toy fire engine and they ended up at the hospital,  her dog got lost and they spent the whole day looking for him, and her grandparents showed up unannounced and they went to the museum instead of the zoo.  But not today, nothing was going to stop Sadie and her dad from making it to the zoo.  Sadie sits in the back of the car looking out the passenger side.  "We're finally on our way. We're having the best time ever. Until my dad says to me, 'Sadie, it's raining.'"  The thing is, Sadie looks out her window and it's not raining on her side of the car.  Sadie's father patiently reiterates that it is raining, actually pouring on his side of the window.  He keeps asking her "is it raining on your side of the car yet?"  But out Sadie's window all she sees are people "putting on their sunglasses and heading to zoos all over the world on my side of the car."
     My Side of the Car is perfect.  The rhythm and pace, the spot-on illustrations, the dialogue and humor, the story...all perfect.  This is a book to own and read, and re-read.  The father's sweet and patient disposition and Sadie's positive thinking and imagination are endearing.  The fact that the writer and illustrator are also a daughter and father team, and that it's based on an actual trip to a nature preserve when Kate Feiffer was young, make it even more special.  One to add to my favorites bookshelf.