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The Night Before Father's Day
The newest title in Natasha Wing's bestselling Night Before series!
It's the night before Father's Day, and Mom and the kids have a plan to surprise Dad with a special gift. When Dad goes for a bike ride, everyone gets to work. Dad wakes up the next day to find his garage newly organized and his car sparkly clean. So, of course, he celebrates by taking everyone for a spin!
It's the night before Father's Day, and Mom and the kids have a plan to surprise Dad with a special gift. When Dad goes for a bike ride, everyone gets to work. Dad wakes up the next day to find his garage newly organized and his car sparkly clean. So, of course, he celebrates by taking everyone for a spin!
32 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2012
About the author
Natasha Wing
74 books137 followersWhy am I a writer? When I was a young girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I’d line up my stuffed animals in front of a board and teach them the alphabet and how to count. In high school I wanted to be a tennis player. I was on the tennis team, and played at our neighborhood tennis club. Then in college I thought digging dinosaur bones would be a cool job. It wasn’t until I was working at my own public relations agency that I decided I really wanted to write children’s books. I was so inspired by the magic of reading a book that I wanted to see if my active imagination could create magical moments for kids all over the world. I started to write, then sent my stories to publishers, and sold my first manuscript in 1992. I’ve been writing ever since.
Why I write now.
I love the freedom of being my own boss, of coming up with ideas on my own and writing that first draft to see if my idea has any spark. I’m not so crazy about the revising process although there are thrilling moments when I figure out a better way to say something, or when I nail dialog, or work through a complicated plot line. The most exciting moment is when an editor says they want to publish my manuscript. Then I know all my hard work has paid off, and that soon, children will enter my imaginative world through a book.
Why I write now.
I love the freedom of being my own boss, of coming up with ideas on my own and writing that first draft to see if my idea has any spark. I’m not so crazy about the revising process although there are thrilling moments when I figure out a better way to say something, or when I nail dialog, or work through a complicated plot line. The most exciting moment is when an editor says they want to publish my manuscript. Then I know all my hard work has paid off, and that soon, children will enter my imaginative world through a book.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 16, 2018
Cute story for Father's Day. Uses the Night before Christmas rhyme as inspiration.
The rhymes are good in this one and the kids thought this was fun.
The rhymes are good in this one and the kids thought this was fun.
June 20, 2021
The Night Before Father's Day is a children's picture book written by Natasha Wing and illustrated by Amy Wummer. It is a book about a family getting ready for Father's Day. As today is the day before Father's Day, I thought reading this book would be apropos.
Wing's text is simplistic and lyrical. It is written in the style of "The Night Before Christmas". The poem was written especially well and follows the rhythm and style of the original poem extremely well. Wummer's illustrations are wonderfully depicted, albeit a tad cartoonish, but represented the text and tone rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is the day before Father's Day, and a family gets ready for Father's Day. The children and their mother clean and organize the garage and washes to the car to surprise their father. As a reward, the father takes the family out on a ride the very next day.
All in all, The Night Before Father's Day is a wonderful children's book done in the style of "The Night Before Christmas". It is a story about a family getting ready for Father's Day and shows their love to him.
Wing's text is simplistic and lyrical. It is written in the style of "The Night Before Christmas". The poem was written especially well and follows the rhythm and style of the original poem extremely well. Wummer's illustrations are wonderfully depicted, albeit a tad cartoonish, but represented the text and tone rather well.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It is the day before Father's Day, and a family gets ready for Father's Day. The children and their mother clean and organize the garage and washes to the car to surprise their father. As a reward, the father takes the family out on a ride the very next day.
All in all, The Night Before Father's Day is a wonderful children's book done in the style of "The Night Before Christmas". It is a story about a family getting ready for Father's Day and shows their love to him.
June 14, 2018
Storytime Theme: Father's Day
June 10, 2012
My Review: The Night Before Father's Day by Natasha Wing is a great book for children to read. This book will inspire children to do something nice for their father for Father’s Day.
While dad took a ride his wife and two kids raced to the garage to clean it up. They made sure that every cords, hoses and wires were hung on the hooks. The kids cleaned up the cobwebs and scrubbed up oil spills. Then they washed and polished his car. And left him a new to-go coffee cup. The next day they couldn’t wait to show their dad their hard work by taking him to the garage, it was the neatest garage that he had ever seen and he couldn’t wait to take them all out in his cleaned and polished car for a long Sunday ride.
What a great Father’s Day gift any child can give their dad. I highly recommend this book for every child to read before Father’s Day.
Ages: 3 and up
Pages: 32
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.
While dad took a ride his wife and two kids raced to the garage to clean it up. They made sure that every cords, hoses and wires were hung on the hooks. The kids cleaned up the cobwebs and scrubbed up oil spills. Then they washed and polished his car. And left him a new to-go coffee cup. The next day they couldn’t wait to show their dad their hard work by taking him to the garage, it was the neatest garage that he had ever seen and he couldn’t wait to take them all out in his cleaned and polished car for a long Sunday ride.
What a great Father’s Day gift any child can give their dad. I highly recommend this book for every child to read before Father’s Day.
Ages: 3 and up
Pages: 32
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.
June 3, 2012
Thanks to Natasha Wing and Goodreads for the copy of The Night Before Father's Day. We received and read it yesterday. My three year old daughter loved the story and the illustrations. I have many of Natasha's other books and was curious about how this rhyme would play out. It was very clever. I think it was a perfect example of how to provide dad with a gift that comes from the heart and a little hard work. This a great book for the upcoming holiday.
April 9, 2026
The Story: In this festive installment of the series, a mom and her kids work together to prepare a special day for Dad. They focus on all the little things that make him feel appreciated—cleaning the garage, preparing his favorite things, and ensuring he has a day of well-earned rest and fun.
The Character Connection: Just like the Mother’s Day version, this is a staple for our personal library. It perfectly captures those relatable, chaotic-yet-sweet moments of children trying to keep a secret! We used this story to talk about initiative and the joy of giving. It’s a great reminder for our kids that family life is a team effort, and taking a moment to honor "Dad" and all his hard work is a beautiful family rhythm to keep.
The Character Connection: Just like the Mother’s Day version, this is a staple for our personal library. It perfectly captures those relatable, chaotic-yet-sweet moments of children trying to keep a secret! We used this story to talk about initiative and the joy of giving. It’s a great reminder for our kids that family life is a team effort, and taking a moment to honor "Dad" and all his hard work is a beautiful family rhythm to keep.
May 24, 2019
I was first introduced to the author's 'Night Before' series in a book for Easter. As cliche as it sounds to adapt the famous Christmas poem to various holidays and life events, I have to admit that once again the concept works. In this book, Mom and kids clean the garage, wash dad's car and plan a great breakfast in bed for Dad. It is full of playful and colorful art, in which the family dog is the true star. What I love most about this story is the idea that gifts don't have to be expensive. A nice gesture or a little help and maybe a homemade card make holidays like this perfect and perfectly doable by even the youngest kids.
June 13, 2021
A sweet Father's Day book full of love
This is a very sweet and beautiful story. I love the rhyming story told with lovely illustrations. The way the mother and children surprised the father is very sweet and shows the love they have and how much they appreciate and adore him. It is a must have for any family especially for Father's Day. I lost my dad a few years ago and wish I could show him this much love and surprise him like this too.
This is a very sweet and beautiful story. I love the rhyming story told with lovely illustrations. The way the mother and children surprised the father is very sweet and shows the love they have and how much they appreciate and adore him. It is a must have for any family especially for Father's Day. I lost my dad a few years ago and wish I could show him this much love and surprise him like this too.
January 17, 2021
The rhyming text tells the story of the narrator, her brother Mike, and Mom surprising Dad with an organized garage washed and waxed car. He surprises them with a nice Sunday Drive.
Tags: Father's Day -- Children's poetry, American -- African American Characters (From Illustrations)
January 8, 2020
It was a nice book.
May 5, 2020
I love the rhyming in this story!
October 27, 2020
A very nice story and lovely illustrations.
June 26, 2022
💙🧡❤️💚🤩👏🏻🖤🌞😃🤔😁🥰🥳💗💕💝💯❣️❤️🔥❤️🩹❤🧡💛💚💜💙🖤💯🤍✨️
My 6 year old loves the book. He liked the book because he likes Father's Day and he liked the story. His favorite part was when the family cleaned the car.
My 6 year old loves the book. He liked the book because he likes Father's Day and he liked the story. His favorite part was when the family cleaned the car.
June 10, 2023
I love stories about families showing love to families and this is one of them.
November 21, 2021
Poetry
Kindergarten
This was such a fun poetry reading about the night before Father's Day. For me this was a window into someone else's life since I did not really celebrate Father's Day. Along with that I feel as though this would be a good book to read to students before doing a Father's Day activity. I feel that many children can relate to it all and will enjoy it. Along with this I loved the rhymes that were in the book. I feel that this would be a fun read aloud. The only thing that I can say about the illustrations is that they did not really stand out to me. They weren't bad but also weren't something that caught my eye. In other words, I enjoyed reading this book.
Kindergarten
This was such a fun poetry reading about the night before Father's Day. For me this was a window into someone else's life since I did not really celebrate Father's Day. Along with that I feel as though this would be a good book to read to students before doing a Father's Day activity. I feel that many children can relate to it all and will enjoy it. Along with this I loved the rhymes that were in the book. I feel that this would be a fun read aloud. The only thing that I can say about the illustrations is that they did not really stand out to me. They weren't bad but also weren't something that caught my eye. In other words, I enjoyed reading this book.
June 13, 2013
I love this book because the rhyme is familiar and easy to catch onto for the lils who don't know the rhythm. I especially love how the characters are ethnically ambiguous and could depict an African American, Hispanic American or other ethnic group, depending on what your eyes see. I love it!
August 1, 2019
In the tradition of The Night Before Christmas, this book is rhythmic and fun. Great illustrations show the family cleaning up the garage and washing Dad's car in preparation for celebrating Father's Day together. Sweet and easy to read aloud.
May 11, 2012
We love all the night before books by this author!
June 6, 2012
The boys loved this book! They can't wait to clean dads shop for him for Father's Day!!! (Won as a firstreads giveaway)
April 11, 2013
The rhyming tripped up, which really affected my opinion of the book.
March 18, 2015
How totally adorable!!! I will be purchasing a copy for my Son-in-Law for Father's Day this year.
April 9, 2019
Good book for children.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews