For years the only way that fathers were portrayed in children's books was in minor roles. Mothers were the focus and fathers were background characters who came home from work at the end of the day or hid behind newspapers at breakfast. Many children's books reflect the change in the father's role in our society. In the literature, as in society, there are many more fathers who nurture, who pursue active, involved relationships with their children, and who have emerged from cardboard stereotypes to become real. The fathers in book are warm, real, and nurturing--in fact, all the things that today's committed fathers are.
I Love my Daddy Because... is a companion to I Love My Mommy Because..., by Laurel Porter-Gaylord. Playing, protecting, napping, laughing, singing and teaching and many more roles of a father are portrayed. Illustrator Ashley Wolff gives double meaning to words by showing how animal fathers give similar care to their young. Like its companion, this book that can extend through naming and sound-making for baby years, through the toddler years where young ones identify and appreciate the listing of father's roles, and young children seeing the parallels between the world of animals and humans. Ages 8mo-3 yrs. (Dial, 1991)
Board book hero Nicky now has a dad co-star in Cathryn Falwell's Nicky Loves Daddy. Together Nicky and his father take a stroller ride and senses and relationship come alive. (Clarion, 1992)
You can begin singing to your baby about fathers right away. Fathers enter the world of song in two books. Steve Charney, a songwriter and host of a popular radio show in upstate New York, has updated the traditional Daddy's Whiskers with a few new verses that include a nice cozy ending. Illustrations by Giora Carmi accent the hilarity of song. Ages newborn-5. (Crown, 1989)
Those who were touched by the fact that songwriter Jimmy Buffet composed the picture book Jolly Mon with his daughter Savannah Jane, may want to hear the tape that goes with the book and is again a collaboration by father and daughter. There is a wonderful calypso music in the background by Michael Utley. Ages 3-10 (HBJ, 1990) New also is another father-daughter story written by the same father-daughter team. Trouble Dolls, illustrated by Lambert Davis, tells the story of a small girl who rescues her father in the Everglades with the help of her trouble dolls. (HBJ, 1991)
In Eric Carle's Papa, please get the moon for me exists the most loving father who has ever have existed. This Papa loves his daughter so much that when she wishes for the moon, he succeeds in getting it for her. Carle shows us the enormity of the task by creating pages that fold out and down and sideways making this book magical and larger than life, certainly matching the love portrayed in the story. This is a story that Mr. Carle wrote for his own daughter and its heart-felt intention is apparent. Ages two to adult. Now available in a tiny carry-around version. (Picture Book Studio, 1986)
In Eve Bunting's No Nap, a care-taking father finds that it's his job to put his daughter Susie to sleep at nap time. She answers with the typical, "No nap!" In response her kindly father walks her, exercises, and dances her. He reads to her and fetches for her and finally succeeds in getting her to lie down. Illustrator Susan Meddaugh foretells the end as she shows the shadows grow below the father's eyes and sure enough when the mother returns, she is greeted by her young child. And guess who's napping? Ages 3-5. (Clarion, 1989)
Susie's once again in control in A Perfect Father's Day. She pulls her resting father out of his armchair and takes him on the perfect day. They go to a fast-food restaurant (of course, he's paying). They go to the park (where he's attacked by pigeons, gets the privilege of pushing Susie on the swings and buying her a balloon.) Of course Susie tells her father Mom's surprise on the way home! And yet, she's so loveable, that a hug comforts all and both are happy at the end of this perfect day. Ages 3-5. (Clarion, 1991)
Sometimes a father is not nurturing in the beginning of a story. He has to learn how to nurture. Again, I think this a marvelous representation of the struggle of many of today's fathers who having had no nurturing male role model, but are motivated to learning because they love their children.
It's difficult living with a hard-working single father during the hot summer. That's what Luke discovers in Allen Say's The Lost Lake. In response, he cuts out pictures of mountains, lakes, rivers and fishing. When Luke's father discovers the pictures, he packs for a surprise backpack excursion to Lost Lake, a place this father used to take him as a boy. Sadly, Lost Lake has been found by a hoard of people. Undaunted, Luke and his father head to wilderness where they discover not only their own special lake, but the beauty of nature and the joys of conversation, laughter and intimacy. Ages 4-8. (Houghton Mifflin, 1989)
One of the strongest identifying traits of fathers is that they work. There are a great many books that deal with the working father. Eve Merriam's Daddies at Work has just been re-illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes. Represented are all races and professions. Most profoundly stressed is that a father's most important work is at home when he is loving his children. Ages 2-5. (Simon and Schuster, 1989)
The father in Patricia Quinlan's My Dad Takes Care of Me is unemployed and Luke feels tummy-funny when asked what his father does. In a situation that is effecting more and more families, this book is honest about the positives and the negatives. Luke feels the profound sense of being loved and nurtured by his father full-time and the sadness his father is experiencing in not being employed. The boy is comforted in his discomfort when he hears another out-of-work dad say that his job is "taking care of his child". Ages 3-8. (Firefly books, 1987)
One of the best ways to explain and understand fathers is by seeing a wide range of them. One of the exciting changes about fathers in recent children's books is that they have become almost as real as the fathers in society.
Daddies come in all colors and so do daughters. In Pili Mandelbaum's You Be Me/I'll Be You, Anna is brown, her father is white, and Anna wants to look like her father. With humor and warmth, her father tells her he'd like to look like her. As they make coffee-milk, her father tells her that he is the milk, Anna's mother is the coffee and Anna is the coffee-milk. They decide to change places- he dusts Anna's face with flour and she covers his with coffee grounds. This wonderfully understated playful look at a bi-racial family ends with a very special theme. The father and Anna notice together how women try to change their looks and the father observes "No one seems happy with the hair they have, nor the color of their skin." My thought is that it is never too early to begin fighting society's apparent desire to homogenize women. Illustrations echo the warmth and the emotions throughout. Ages 3-7. (Kane/Miller, 1990)
Where's Chimpy? by Bernice Rabe tells the story of a father and his Down Syndrome daughter hunting down a lost toy at bedtime. The father's patience and his tender playful teaching of young Misty are matched only by her rising to this same level of love of play and love for him. Ages 4-8. (Whitman, 1988)
Nettie Hilton's Dirty Dave is an outlaw, so are his sister and his mother. But Dan, his father, likes to sew. How wonderful to see a father figure who stays at home and enjoys domesticity. Even better when we see in the final twist, Dave's sewing is so fine that his family gives up outlawing and stays home to help Dave's sewing success. Rhyme and rhythm add to humor of situation and expression. Ages 3-6. (Orchard, 1990)
Eve Bunting is unafraid of handling delicate subjects, perhaps this is because she knows the powers of her own sensitivity in writing. Fly Away Home tells the story of a boy and father, who live in an airport. Knowing how to blend in, knowing the regulars, appearing invisible, worrying about the future, experiencing the sadness of the Mother's death and the impossibility of affording a rent. The book escapes complete overwhelm with an image of hope. One day the boy sees a small bird, trapped in the airport, escape and fly free to its home. The boy and the reader hold onto the hope and it flutters on the very last page, feeling almost attainable. Illustrations by Ronald Himler accent the moods of the books, the pervasive sadnesses and the blur of living a life of anonymity. Ages 5-9. (Clarion, 1991)
George Ella Lyon's Cecil's Story appears to be written for a beginning reader, but the complexity of emotions make it a book that should be shared. Cecil's Story tells about a young farm boy waiting and hoping that his father will return from the Civil War. Lyon brings children into the emotional experience, yet the long-ago setting prevents them from being overwhelmed. Her images are poetic, sensuous, and honest. She writes from the viewpoint of a hard-working farm child who can't keep busy enough to stop feeling scared. The images that illustrator Peter Catalanotto choses for his watercolors are as emotive as Lyon's words. He shows readers the loneliness and fear a child feels when his father is missing and the comfort of a re-united family. Ages 5-9. (Orchard, 1991)
In Cresecent Dragonwagon's Winter Holding Spring we see a father and a daughter comforting each other in the year after the child's mother has died. Sarah's father shows her how one season holds promise of another, blending the seasons into a year and by the end of the book Sarah can see the promise of her mother connects the past and future in herself. One of the strongest elements of the story is healing of the father-daughter relationship. The father is warm, compassionate, verbal, complimentary, listening, nurturing, supportive and treasures the relationship with Sarah as she does with him. It is easy to see why their love heals them. The memories of the mother are so poignant that her love is also very present in the book. (Macmillan, 1990)
Though not strictly a children's book, this article would not be complete without mentioning The Wonderful Father Book by Richard Mann. Mann, who was once a professional street performer in San Francisco, reveals many of his secrets for a variety of tricks that will convince a child that s/he, indeed, has a wonderful father. Skills, such as learning to hang twelve spoons from different parts of your face, are discussed not only by how to do them, but how to "razzle-dazzle" your child into being excited by the trick. I gave this book to my husband at the birth of our second child and he has been wowing our child with it ever since. I sometimes wish, however, if this shouldn't have been titled the Wonderful Parent because Moms enjoy doing the tricks and becoming wonderful just as much as Dads. (Turnbull & Willoughby Publishers, Inc.)
In reviewing books about fathers in 1991 I find some very special new books that have recently been released and others I've discovered since my last writing several years ago. The fathers in book are warm, real, and nurturing--in fact, all the things that today's involved fathers are.
Daddies begin making appearances in board books. Helen Oxenbury's over-sized board book, Say Goodnight, features a loving father who performs the night-time ritual. Ages 6mo-2yrs. (Macmillan, 1989) And Oxenbury continues her nurturing father role for toddlers in two Tom and Pippo stories, Make a Mess and Read a Story. In Make a Mess, for example, the frustrated father mops up after the adventuresome toddler Tom who of course blames his stuffed monkey, Pippo. Ages 2-4. (Macmillan)
Daddy and Me by Neil Ricklen is the most active board book I've ever seen. The bright photographs show fathers of all colors and ages interacting with their babies. There's the dad who toss his baby so hard her hair flies and you can almost hear her giggle. Dads pour sand, fly their babies and share cuddles. (Little Simon, 1988)
I Love my Daddy Because... is a companion to I Love My Mommy Because..., by Laurel Porter-Gaylord. Playing, protecting, napping, laughing, singing and teaching and many more roles of a father are portrayed. Illustrator Ashley Wolff gives double meaning to words by showing how animal fathers give similar care to their young. Like its companion, this book that can extend through naming and sound-making for baby years, through the toddler years where young ones identify and appreciate the listing of father's roles, and young children seeing the parallels between the world of animals and humans. Ages 8mo-3 yrs. (Dial, 1991)
You can begin singing to your baby about fathers right away. Fathers enter the world of song in two books. Steve Charney, a songwriter and host of a popular radio show in upstate New York, has updated the traditional Daddy's Whiskers with a few new verses that include a nice cozy ending. Illustrations by Giora Carmi accent the hilarity of song. Ages newborn-5. (Crown, 1989)
A wonderful blending of song and illustration happened when Jane Dyer illustrated My Father by Judy Collins. Dyer's love of the song is ever-present in her warm expressive illustrations. The intimacy of family, strength of dreams, father's love and childhood whimsy all find meaningful representation in word and pictures. Music is included for those who've forgotten the tune, though you, like me, might be inspired to run out and re-purchase Collins' tape. The melody is soft and haunting and perfect for lullabying. Ages newborn- 5. (Little Brown, 1989)
Those who were touched by the fact that songwriter Jimmy Buffet composed the picture book Jolly Mon with his daughter Savannah Jane, may want to hear the tape that goes with the book and is again a collaboration by father and daughter. There is a wonderful calypso music in the background by Michael Utley. Ages 3-10 (HBJ, 1990)
In Eve Bunting's No Nap, a care-taking father finds that it's his job to put his daughter Susie to sleep at nap time. She answers with the typical, "No nap!" In response her kindly father walks her, exercises, and dances her. He reads to her and fetches for her and finally succeeds in getting her to lie down. Illustrator Susan Meddaugh foretells the end as she shows the shadows grow below the father's eyes and sure enough when the mother returns, she is greeted by her young child. And guess who's napping? Ages 3-5. (Clarion, 1989)
Susie's once again in control in A Perfect Father's Day. She pulls her resting father out of his armchair and takes him on the perfect day. They go to a fast-food restaurant (of course, he's paying). They go to the park (where he's attacked by pigeons, gets the privilege of pushing Susie on the swings and buying her a balloon.) Of course Susie tells her father Mom's surprise on the way home! And yet, she's so loveable, that a hug comforts all and both are happy at the end of this perfect day. Ages 3-5. (Clarion, 1991)
A similar non-sleeping situation exists in Charlotte Zolotow's The Summer Night, newly published with illustrations by Ben Shecter. A small girl is filled with the magic of a summer evening and her wise father, identifying with "eyes a bright as stars" understands. He brings her treats, reads, plays piano for her, and they talk a walk into the night together. Finally when the father sees the little girl's eyes are "dreamy and sleepy at last." He carries her into bed. Zolotow's writing is lyrical and sensual. Shecter's drawings are warm and soft. Ages 3-6. (HarperCollins, 1991)
Why Do You Love Me? by Martin Baynton is a conversation between father and son that seems so true to life, it reminds me of precious times spent with my children that are forever frozen in my memory. As the small boy and his father travel through mud puddles and up and down trees, they talk of their love for each other. The tone behind the words is one of constancy and loving each other to the very core. Yet none of this is sappy or sentimentalized and by rolls along naturally as an intensely meaningful dialogue between child and parent so often does. Illustrations bring a nice balance of humor to lighten the text. Ages 3-6. (Greenwillow, 1988)
Janis Udry's What Mary Jo Shared has been re-illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles. Elizabeth is shy and she is frustrated because she can't think of anything to share at school. She finally thinks of some original things, hurries to school, only to find that someone else has thought of the same idea. Finally, Mary Jo shares her father and the enthusiasm of her classmates lets her know how meaningful her sharing has been. Mary Jo's father, who is shared without his knowledge, is a very good sport and enjoys it perhaps even more than his daughter or her peers! Ages 4-6. (Scholastic, 1991)
Daddies come in all colors and so do daughters. In Pili Mandelbaum's You Be Me/I'll Be You, Anna is brown, her father is white, and Anna wants to look like her father. With humor and warmth, her father tells her he'd like to look like her. As they make coffee-milk, her father tells her that he is the milk, Anna's mother is the coffee and Anna is the coffee-milk. They decide to change places- he dusts Anna's face with flour and she covers his with coffee grounds. This wonderfully understated playful look at a bi-racial family ends with a very special theme. The father and Anna notice together how women try to change their looks and the father observes "No one seems happy with the hair they have, nor the color of their skin." My thought is that it is never too early to begin fighting society's apparent desire to homogenize women. Illustrations echo the warmth and the emotions throughout. Ages 3-7. (Kane/Miller, 1990)
Where's Chimpy? by Bernice Rabe tells the story of a father and his Down Syndrome daughter hunting down a lost toy at bedtime. The father's patience and his tender playful teaching of young Misty are matched only by her rising to this same level of love of play and love for him. Ages 4-8. (Whitman, 1988)
When Papa Fox tells his sons he'd like to have Mrs. Hedgehog to breakfast, in Ann Turner's Hedgehog for Breakfast, his two confused sons believe Mrs. Hedgehog is meant to be the breakfast. This misunderstanding leads to warm humor as the boys try to prepare the prickly beast. Illustrator Lisa McCue adds a sense of family intimacy and quaint country life while portraying the emotional tones of Ms. Turner's story. Ages 3-7. (Macmillan, 1989)
The father in Patricia Quinlan's My Dad Takes Care of Me is unemployed and Luke feels tummy-funny when asked what his father does. In a situation that is effecting more and more families, this book is honest about the positives and the negatives. Luke feels the profound sense of being loved and nurtured by his father full-time and the sadness his father is experiencing in not being employed. The boy is comforted in his discomfort when he hears another out-of-work dad say that his job is "taking care of his child". Ages 3-8. (Firefly books, 1987)
Nettie Hilton's Dirty Dave is an outlaw, so are his sister and his mother. But Dan, his father, likes to sew. How wonderful to see a father figure who stays at home and enjoys domesticity. Even better when we see in the final twist, Dave's sewing is so fine that his family gives up outlawing and stays home to help Dave's sewing success. Rhyme and rhythm add to humor of situation and expression. Ages 3-6. (Orchard, 1990)
When Julie's new neighbors move in, their belongings seem strange, a fork as big as a pitchfork and a knife as big as a flag pole. David, the new neighbor seems regular and Julie's delighted to play until she discovers David's Father. David's father is a giant and frightens Julie until she discovers his kindnesses, his helpfulness, his protectiveness and the fact that though of unusual size, he's a terrific Dad. Ages 3-7. (Firefly Books, 1983)
The fathers I've witnessed in this books this year are once again loving, supportive, nurturing, warm, funny and just as wonderful as the fathers I've met in real life!