COUNTING ON DAD

Count from one to 10 with these fathers and their young.

From under the sea to the high treetops, readers bounce through various habitats as dads interact with their offspring. A tentacled octopus reaches for his babies (“1 dad stretching”). In a meadow of purple flowers, cats tussle with their kittens (“9 dads cuddling”). Otters snuggle with their pups while floating down the river (“5 dads relaxing”). On each spread, a bold numeral in a pillowy font takes center stage, surrounded by full spreads of countable fathers and their young (only the dads match their equivalent numbers; many more babies are often present). The bright, utterly cute artwork depicts the pairs gazing adoringly at each other, except when they’re snoozing with arms wrapped tightly around each other. The fathers often help pass down life skills—six bears teach their cubs how to hunt salmon, while eight birds demonstrate how to whistle a song. The culminating spread (“So many amazing dads! / Count all the dads around you”) brings more pops into the fold, combining some animals seen on previous pages but also adding new friends.

A sweet ode to fatherhood that takes a walk on the wild side.