The tickle party takes on many forms. I don’t know when that magical age ends because our children are eight and ten, which is apparently the prime wrestling or tickle party demographic. Friday Night WrestleFest by J.F. Fox with illustrations by Micah Player knows exactly what happens during these festivals of wrestling and laughter.
Pizza has been ordered and all of the combatants are near the mat. Each wrestler gets their own introduction. Dangerous Daddoo is up first against The Tag Team Twins, Peanut Brother and wriggly-giggly Jellyfish. Big Bad Baby is also lurking in the corner, seemingly ready to tag in with a foreign object in case her siblings need a break.
Where is mom? What’s her wrestling name and just how do they put the lid on this wrestling match so that everyone can get to bed on time? It’s that last question that sometimes vexes parents when the real-life wrestling match hits their house.
Friday Night WrestleFest is an illustrated book that could also be characterized as non-fiction. It happens in our house at least twice a week, sometimes more depending on how much energy I have or when exactly my wife tags in. The art and colors in the book are perfectly paired with the big, oversized onomatopoeia that move the book forward. This is a big, colorful love letter to that active, playful time that blends tickling and wrestling.
The book serves as a great good-night book if you read it once; but has enough detail, madcap hues and different font to easily keep kids three through six happy and engaged. It also ties things up nicely with a laugh and lets kids know that when tickle (or wrestling) time is over it really is time to brush their teeth and get to bed…until next week’s main event.
There are affiliate links in this post, because, wrestling.
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