The father/daughter team of Jules and Kate Feiffer have teamed again to create a thoroughly endearing reenactment of a long-ago lived true story. Having had three former attempts to go to the zoo thwarted, (mom hurt her foot and had to go to the hospital, the dog ran away and we had to search, grandparents made a surprise visit), this was the day Sadie and her father would finally get to the zoo. Because "if we don't go to the zoo today, I don't think we'll ever get there." No temper tantrums, no pouting; just tacit acceptance of the ill-fated trip. This irresistible story, a brilliant blending of Sadie's determination, enthusiasm, and understanding, is delivered without so much as a hint of the saccharine, or a whisper of entitlement.

Forget "the glass is half full" and "every cloud has a silver lining." "It's not Raining on My Side of the Car!" just may become the battle cry for the tenacious optimist living in each of us.