Wild About Dads

April 1, 2020
Three human dads bookend this list of things animal dads do for their children, and readers will find them all to be very familiar. "Dads can help you reach up high, // and help to keep you warm and dry." These two double-page spreads show, first, a marmoset with a baby on his back reaching for some red berries and then penguin dads with their chicks on their feet. Some anthropomorphization creeps in with eagle dads, who "like fishing," and prairie dog dads, who enjoy "playing games, like hide-and-seek." Among the author's unusual animal choices are pelicans, sandhill cranes, African wild dogs, poison dart frogs, and bearded emperor tamarins. A final spread in the backmatter shows a vignette illustration of each species and one to three sentences of further information about the animals and their dad duties: "Sun-grebe dads carry young hatchlings in a pocket under their wings to keep them safe" (disappointingly, this is inaccurately depicted like a kangaroo's pouch); "Marmoset dads groom, feed, and carry their babies on their backs." This info will fascinate those young children with the patience to sit still to listen to this text-dense spread after the terse couplets. Alvarez's full-bleed illustrations lightly anthropomorphize her animal subjects with smiles and some postures. The bright colors will attract an audience. A fascinating look at dads in the animal world who behave similarly to human dads. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

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May 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 1-This heartwarming story depicts dads in the animal kingdom. Murray uses rhyming couplets to explore fatherhood among animals including eagles, pelicans, hippos, and foxes. "Dads like fishing in a creek, and playing games, like hide-and-seek." That text is paired with an image of an eagle diving toward a fish while his eaglets awaits in a nest, and another image of a prairie dog father peeking underground to see his many playful pups. The colorful palette of the matte illustrations connotes the warm relationships between male parents and children. The book opens and closes with a diverse group of human fathers interacting with their children. Back matter includes accessible facts about the animals featured. VERDICT Suitable for read-alouds and a solid choice for Father's Day.-Ramarie Beaver, formerly at Plano Public Library, TX

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 25, 2020
Comparing frequently attested human filial attributes to those of animal fathers, Murray tackles the age-old question: “what are dads like, anyway?” Alongside Alvarez’s colorful, swooping illustrations of creaturely families, rhyming lines describe the ways that male animals help their young: “Dads can help you reach up high” accompanies a bearded emperor tamarin assisting a little one with hanging fruit; “and help to keep you warm and dry” shows emperor penguins balancing fluffy chicks on their feet. Other animal families featured include African wild dogs, eagles, gorillas, pelicans, and sandhill cranes. The claim that “no two dads are quite the same” may fly in the face of the book’s more generalized accounting (“Dads like fishing in the creek,/ and playing games, like hide-and-seek”), but Murray makes it clear that many fathers, animal and human alike, are capable caretakers. Back matter lists dad facts about each species referenced. Ages 3–6.