A warm and enticing celebration of doting fathers.
Whether they are “Papa,” “Bàba,” “Papi,” or “Fadre,” fathers love their children.
This board book shows dads engaging in many different forms of love: reading bedtime stories, searching the skies with a telescope, biking, and gardening. Told from the child’s point of view, the text is made up of simple, descriptive statements like “Daddy and I play soccer together. He teaches me how to juggle the ball,” and “Baba shows me how to dress with style. He makes everything look like new.” The book is inclusive, with characters who are diverse in terms of race and ability. Urda also includes a child who talks about a father figure rather than a dad: “Pappy is like my dad—he helps me ride my bike.” Butcher’s illustrations carefully capture details such as delicate, Afro-textured curls, braids, and crutches. The images show fathers doing a range of tasks, including those traditionally associated with mothers, such as baking and sewing. The colors are vibrant and inviting, with plenty to take in on each page. Overall, this simple tale shows fathers as the diverse, capable, loving parents that they are. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm and enticing celebration of doting fathers. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1351-7
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring in alphabetical order.
Each page displays an enormous capital letter, one line of verse with the keyword capitalized, and a loving nonhuman parent gazing adoringly at their baby. “A is for Always. I always love you more. / B is for Butterfly kisses. It’s you that I adore.” While not named or labelled as such, the A is also for an alligator and its hatchling and B is for a butterfly and a butterfly child (not a caterpillar—biology is not the aim of this title) interacting in some way with the said letter. For E there are an elephant and a calf; U features a unicorn and foal; and X, keyed to the last letter of the animal’s name, corresponds to a fox and three pups. The final double-page spread shows all the featured creatures and their babies as the last line declares: “Baby, I love you from A to Z!” The verse is standard fare and appropriately sentimental. The art is cartoony-cute and populated by suitably loving critters on solid backgrounds. Hearts accent each scene, but the theme of the project is never in any doubt.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, but the syrupy sweetness will cloy after the holiday. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2095-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cuddle up with this cheery board book to assure your babies that they too are loved.
Parental love has never been expressed so sweetly and believably.
In this sunny, bright world there is no ambivalence, much less postpartum depression—only positive possibilities. Church offers a model of good parenting, expressing the universal hopes all parents have for their children, that they “see the joy that life can bring.” Her focus is always on the child. The narrator mother is shown only at the very beginning, cuddling her newborn and lifting a sock-clad toddler above her head. On two other pages readers see the mother's hands reaching out to guide and encourage as the baby begins to crawl, stand, and run. The first-person narration might be confusing if the book is shared by a caregiver other than a mother. Toddlers will join in on the reassuring refrain “I will love you forever.” The pants-clad child is shown with tightly curled reddish-brown hair and light brown skin. The mother has a slightly lighter skin tone and straight hair. A faithful brown dog and well-loved teddy bear accompany the child on almost every page.
Cuddle up with this cheery board book to assure your babies that they too are loved. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-94200-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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