If I'd Known Then What I Know Now

by Reeve Lindbergh

A father's love for his family is expressed through his well-meaning but unsuccessful attempts to fix up their house

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Children's author, novelist, and poet Reeve Lindbergh is the daughter of world-renowned aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife, the talented writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea for this story is so cute! A well-meaning father tries to build his family a house, only he doesn't quite know how (he is "just learning") and the results are rather imperfect! I think kids will really enjoy the humorous results, and the ending is so sweet. I think this would have been a four star for me except that I didn't like two of the scenarios involving animals. But, others might find them humorous.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhyming story of one boy’s father who attempts building, plumbing, and electrical work (among other disasters) each year of the boy’s life. The boy keeps repeating that his father is just learning how to do each thing, with the father responding, “If I’d known then what I know now.” At the end of the story, on the boy’s twelfth birthday, the family tells the father, “Dad, what you say is true. / But we still wouldn’t want any dad but you / If we’d known then what we know now!” The illustrations flesh out the text and add to the craziness of the story.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story told in verse about growing up with a DIY father that does everything incorrectly, but has the hindsight to say that he would have done it right if he knew then what he knows now. It's one of those heartwarming stories about a family loving each other despite their shortcomings or quirks. It wasn't my favorite Reeve Lindbergh book, but it wasn't bad.

[SKP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute idea for a story, and coincidentally, I read it right before Father’s Day. A couple of the failed tasks that the father undertook didn’t do much for me (e.g. did the mother catch the baby before the baby bed tipped over?), but it was meant to be silly and in that it succeeded. OK illustrations, not my favorite of Reeve’s Lindbergh’s books.