Children's Books discussion

In June, the Picture Book Club will celebrate fathers! :-)

(A nice dovetail with our May theme, "Mothers")

Below, please find a fine list of picture books about fathers--and feel welcome to add additional suggestions to keep this Master List growing.

A few to get us started:

Froggy's Day With Dad

Just Me and My Dad Mercer Mayer

Me and My Dad Alison Ritchie

What Dads Can't Do

Building with Dad

My Father Knows the Names of Things

A Wild Father's Day

You and Me Together: Moms, Dads, and Kids Around the World (non-fiction, photography)

Because Your Daddy Loves You

Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz

Baby Dance

Has Anyone Seen My Emily Greene?

Oh I'm glad we're doing this. Sometimes we forget to appreciate fathers.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Oh I'm glad we're doing this. Sometimes we forget to appreciate fathers."

Me, too! And I know there are some great dads in our group, and some dads really enjoy reading to their kids. And, even if moms do most of the read-alouds, it's still nice to share stories about fathers. I am really happy we are doing this tribute to dads :-)

Tyrannosaurus Dad by Liz Rosenberg

Mitchell's License by Hallie Durand *I've read this already but it's really good :)

Molly and Her Dad by Jan Ormerod and Carol Thompson

Because Your Daddy Loves You by Andrew Clements

Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?

The Bear Went Over the Mountain
The Big Honey Hunt

I seem to be inadvertantly on a 'bearish' theme ....!?!

Guess How Much I Love You

If I Were You

Randie - above the comment box you'll see the words "add book/author" which is a link to a search box. (for either book title or author). Once you 'add' the book you want, the html code required will be automatically put into your comment box.

Give it a try and post if you have problems. Good Luck!

Let's see if I figured out this whole linking thing...Oh, Daddy!

Linda wrote: "Randie - above the comment box you'll see the words "add book/author" which is a link to a search box. (for either book title or author). Once you 'add' the book you want, the html code required ..."

Thank you! I noticed that right after my post and deleted it, thank you for helping me, I am so clueless to the obvious lol :D

We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Ox-Cart Man
Christmas at Long Pond
Papa, Do You Love Me?

Oh, yayyy!!! So excited to see so many great recommendations. We are going to have another amazing month of good books, I can tell ;-) Thank you all!

Randie wrote: "Let's see if I figured out this whole linking thing...Oh, Daddy!"

Yay, Randie! You've got it! :-D

Here are a few:

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish by Neil Gaiman

My Dad by Anthony Browne

Pinky and Rex and the Double-Dad Weekend by James Howe

Dad Runs Away with the Circus by Etgar Keret

I Love My Daddy Because...Board Book by Laurel Porter-Gaylord

Two more:
Climbing Kansas Mountains
The Bears' Picnic

Here's another:

If I Were You by Richard Hamilton

It's now time to vote for the five books you'd most like to read with the group :-) Voting will be open until May 14th. Thanks!

My votes:

Climbing Kansas Mountains

My Father Knows the Names of Things

Has Anyone Seen My Emily Greene?

Papa Gatto

Because Your Daddy Loves You

So many interesting books to choose from... I didn't even pick one of my nominations (I've read them already!)

Dolly wrote: "So many interesting books to choose from... I didn't even pick one of my nominations (I've read them already!) "

;-) Yes, I'm always torn between pulling for something I've already read and loved (to share the joy with others) or going for something totally new (which I am probably going to love, too!)

Here are my votes:
Ox-Cart Man
What Dads Can't Do
Froggy's Day With Dad
Building with Dad
Just Me and My Dad
I am looking forward to reading the books about dads and participating in this, my first book discussion group. Thank you.

My votes:
The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
What Dads Can't Do
Because Your Daddy Loves You
Mitchell's License
My Dad

Anthony wrote: "I am looking forward to reading the books about dads and participating in this, my first book discussion group. Thank you. "

Yay! Welcome, Anthony! So happy to have you join us :-)

My votes are:
Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?
Guess How Much I Love You
Tyrannosaurus Dad
What Dads Can't Do
Mitchell's License

My mom used to read Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? to me when I was little. I loved that book!

Trevor wrote: "My votes are:
Can't You Sleep, Little Bear?
Guess How Much I Love You
Tyrannosaurus Dad
What Dads Can't Do
Mitchell's License

My mom used to read Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? to me when I was lit..."

Hi, Trevor! Welcome to the group :-)

Thanks. :)

The votes are in! Thanks to those who voted. I tallied the votes and factored in my preferences where there was no clear frontrunner. Here, then, are the results:


What Dads Can't Do

Mitchell's License

Because Your Daddy Loves You

Has Anyone Seen My Emily Greene?

Froggy's Day With Dad

Sixth/Alternate
Just Me and My Dad

I'm looking forward to June :-)

I just read Molly and Her Dad and wish I'd known before voting how interesting it is - would've been good to discuss. Check it out for yourself! :)

Let's Go See Papa! does not focus entirely on the relationship between the narrator and her father, but it is clear that they love each other very much.

Here's my review:
The narrator of this story hasn't seen her papa in one year, eight months and twenty-two days. Her dad has gone to the U.S. to work and send money back to her and her mama and her abuela. Every Sunday her papa calls to talk to them. This week when he calls, he has big news. She and her mama will be moving to the U.S. to be with him. She is, understandably, quite nervous. She will miss her abuela and Kika, their dog. She doesn't know if she will make friends.

This book has beautiful, realistic illustrations. The book portrays her excitement about being reunited with her beloved papa and her fear about the unknown changes about to occur as well as her sadness over leaving her abuela and dog. The love between the family members is apparent and could lead to great discussions about why her dad came here, why people immigrate, how it would feel to move to a new country, etc.

My only wish was that this was a bilingual book. The author's bio says he writes books in English and Spanish. (And I suppose it is possible that there is a Spanish version? Maybe I'll do some searching) With the subject matter, it seems a very appropriate book to be written in both English and Spanish. (And since we're trying to raise our children to be bilingual/biliterate, I love finding good quality books written in both languages.)

Jenny wrote: "Let's Go See Papa! does not focus entirely on the relationship between the narrator and her father, but it is clear that they love each other very much.

Here's my review:
The narrator of this stor..."

Sounds wonderful! Thank you so much for posting.

I'll look for that one! I agree it's a shame it's not bilingual.

Read Stars Above Us This features a young girl, Amanda, and her dad and mom. Amanda is scared of the dark until her dad takes her outside and shows her the beauty of the stars and fireflies. Then he helps Amanda decorate the ceiling of her bedroom with homemade glow in the dark stars. This becomes even more special when her dad leaves (to serve in the military... but this isn't clearly stated...you do finally see him in a uniform after several pages...my children wanted to know why he was leaving...). She even plans a special surprise with her mom for his homecoming. It touches on her feelings while her dad is gone, but focusses more on her closeness to him and how the stars above them connect them. This father/daughter definitely loves each other.

Jenny wrote: "Read Stars Above Us This features a young girl, Amanda, and her dad and mom. Amanda is scared of the dark until her dad takes her outside and shows her the beauty of the stars and fireflies. The..."

Sounds very sweet!

I agree about A New Year's Reunion: A Chinese Story. It actually reminded me a bit of Let's Go See Papa!

I just read The Dollhouse Fairy. It has both realism and magic mixed in together. Here's my review:
Rosy and her dad always play with her dollhouse together. It is their special time together. Then Rosy's dad gets very sick and has to go to the hospital. While he is gone, a fairy named Thistle appears in the dollhouse. Thistle has a broken wing and asks to stay in the dollhouse to heal. Thistle is a very messy fairy and somewhat demanding.

Rosy's dollhouse is lovely and I really enjoyed the illustrations of the dollhouse and the fairy, but found the illustrations of Rosy and her family to be a little off-putting somehow. My daughters, who have a dollhouse, were so excited that the fairy came to live in Rosy's dollhouse. I appreciated the obvious love between Rosy and her father...and that he spent time playing with her dollhouse with her...an activity that might not be the first you'd think of for a dad to do.

Jenny, YES! The Dollhouse Fairy! How could I forget that one? You're right, it's just wonderful in the father's interaction with his daughter, especially in the play with the dollhouse. Very sweet. Thank you for posting.

Dollhouse Fairy is from Candlewick Press and they've never disappointed me (iirc) - I'll def. check it out; thanks Jenny!

Here are a few more books I've read:

Molly and Her Dad Molly doesn't know her dad...he lives "a whole plane ride away". So she is constantly imagining what he is like and whether he is like other kids' dads. But then he takes care of her for a week. At first, she feels uncomfortable and doesn't know what to call him. But soon she finds they have a lot in common. The book doesn't explain why Molly's dad lives far away, so this could be a good book for kids whose parents are divorced or kids whose fathers are unknown for a variety of reasons (as well as kids who do know their dads, to have empathy). I didn't mind the illustrations, although they weren't my favorite. But many people hated them.

Crow Call This is a true story of Lois Lowry's childhood. Lizzie's (Lowry's) father has been away at war for a long time and she feels shy and uncertain around him. They spend a day together, getting breakfast and plan to hunt the crows that eat their crops. But the hunting frightens and saddens Lizzie. The book ends in a peaceful, happy way with no hunting ocurring. The illustrations are gorgeous.

If I Were You: Such a fun, fun book! The daddy is reading a story to his daughter and then says, "If I were you, I'd snuggle down and go to sleep." Which gets Daisy thinking about what would happen if she were the parent and her dad were the kid... he'd dress in a tutu and dance, she'd read the bedtime story, she'd push him in a stroller, and so on. Dad and Daisy take turns telling what would happen "If I were you and you were me." So fun! I loved the ending. My kids and I played this game for a few minutes after reading this book.

This could make a fun writing project as well. Students/children could write and illustrate their own book of if I were you and you were me... with the child taking the place of the parent or the teacher or even a totally different character like the dog.If I Were You

Mary's PennyWhile the illustrations aren't my favorite style, they worked well with this book that takes place "long, long ago--way back in the golden, olden days." There is a farmer with 3 children: the beefy Hans, the brawny Franz, and the smart Mary. The father can't decide who to leave his farm to. So he issues a challenge to Franz and Hans (but not Mary, because she is a girl). Whoever can fill the whole house using only one penny will take over the farm. Franz and Hans have good ideas...but not good enough. But when Mary uses her brain, she is able to fill the house several times over (you have to read the book to find out how! :)) There are some repeated refrains ..."the golden, olden days" and "you could buy an awful lot of _____ for a penny" and a few others. And the fact that Mary, the girl, uses her brain not brawn to arrive at a solution is wonderful. Apparently this is a traditional tale that has been retold before. (This was my first time reading/hearing it.)..This probably only loosely fits with the father's theme. It doesn't really focus primarily on the father's relationship with the children, but it is touched upon as he's trying to decide who to give the farm to (and doesn't originally even consider Mary). He does show genuine warmth toward Mary when she comes up with a very clever solution to filling the house.

Building with DadThe illustrations in this are amazing...As this book is read vertically rather than the typical horizontally, the illustrations really take center stage. The story is of a little boy who goes to the construction site of his new school that his dad is helping to build. The story is told in rhyme. The story is okay. I would imagine that many boys, in particular, would love this book. My girls liked it...and we all really enjoyed the illustrations.

Wonderful list! Thanks so much, Jenny :-)

No ghost under my bed, by Guido Van Genechten

my link text

The Mango Monster

Found this a lovely picture book with a nice message of kindness and sharing (shown at first primarily by the father and then imitated by his daughter and niece, a message that is perhaps a bit didactic, but my inner child loves the combination of text and images and how Marianne an d Zoe through problem solving and teamwork try to figure out who or what is making off with their mangos). Part of me kind of wishes the father had right away mentioned that he was taking some of the mangos to food banks etc. but of course if that were the case there would not be a story.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dad, I Miss You: A Residential School Story


OwnVoices story (the author is Inuit), although the illustrator hails from South Korea, a heart wrenching Residential School tale of a son and his father showing the trauma caused by Inuit children forcibly taken from their families and communities to attend Residential School (but silently, cerebrally, not as conversations, but what is not said is essential and painfully poignant). Text and images work really well together, but just a warning, this is a painfully sad and by necessity uncomfortable story. Highly recommended!!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...