Seek out more successful funny tales of fathers and sons, such as Ethan Long’s My Dad, My Hero (2010) and Liz Rosenberg’s...
In this average offering, a boy, his dad and their small dog spend a day at the beach.
Morgan and Kwaymullina’s spare text recounts the many things they contend with and encounter. Dad is fearlessly brave (but more often clueless to the danger) as he survives turning his back on a colossal ocean wave, swimming in a sea full of jellyfish and threatening a couple of menacing sharks. Sunny blues and yellows dominate the palette. Ottley’s illustrations provide the real story as he plays with perspective and exaggerates scale to accentuate the cartoonish tone. On one spread, dad’s comically oversized foot ably steps over super-sharp thornlike shells, and on another a villainous crab with an impossibly huge claw attempts to steal lunch. The unlikely creatures that dad seems to have a true fear of are the ones that the boy enthusiastically chases away. Preschool readers will identify with the fun of scaring off squawking seagulls and enjoy the boy’s role as hero. A troubling oddity, though—the father’s physical characteristics seem altered on the next-to-the-last spread. Through most of the book, he is decidedly dark-skinned and looks vaguely aboriginal (this is an Australian import); in that penultimate picture, his skin tone appears lighter, and the facial features are different.
Seek out more successful funny tales of fathers and sons, such as Ethan Long’s My Dad, My Hero (2010) and Liz Rosenberg’s Tyrannosaurus Dad, illustrated by Matthew Myers (2010) . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-921541-81-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Hare/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2011
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A powerful affirmation for all dads—the good, the flawed, and those doing the best they can.
Dedicating his latest to “caregivers who give what they never got,” Caldecott Honor winner Robinson explores complicated feelings around fatherhood.
From the outset, the book appears to be a standard-issue Father’s Day offering, pairing brief, loving sentiments with images of animals. But it soon becomes clear that Robinson has crafted something much more complex. A frog with tadpoles nestled atop his back (“Dad is here”) is followed by an illustration of an owl leaving the nest (“Dad had to go away”). More contrasts are presented: a seahorse keeping his offspring safe in his pouch (“Dad holds on tight”), two shark pups swimming away from their frenzied-looking patriarch (“Dad need lots of space”). “Dad lets you down and makes mistakes” (a porcupine accidentally jabs his little one), but “Dad picks you up and makes you feel safe” (a lion snuggles his cub). And the human fathers we meet next—diverse in skin tone and ability—are equally multifaceted. Robinson outdoes himself, his bold and richly textured paint and collage artwork popping against the background. His artwork is rife with subtleties for careful readers—for instance, the look of uncertainty in the eyes of the gorilla father described as “strong.” For all its simplicity, this colorful book is laden with meaning, depicting fathers as vulnerable, imperfect, gentle, and empathetic—in a word, deeply human.
A powerful affirmation for all dads—the good, the flawed, and those doing the best they can. (more information on the animals presented) (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9781250397041
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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