Book Description
for My Dad by Anthony Browne
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Dad is an amazing person. He’s courageous (“My dad isn’t afraid of ANYTHING, even the Big Bad Wolf”). He possesses a phenomenal range of athletic abilities (“He can wrestle with giants, or win the fathers’ race on sports day, easily”). In fact, he excels at just about everything (“He’s fantastic at soccer, and he makes me laugh”). This very ordinary-appearing father is shown at the pinnacle of his son’s affections, whether he’s leaping over the moon or balancing on a clothesline tightrope, all while clad in a plaid bathrobe and striped pajamas and in need of a shave. Children will appreciate the blatant humor of this father’s attributes, while adults will enjoy the image of Dad belting it out on stage as one of the Three Tenors, while the famous tuxedoed personalities on either side appear a bit disgruntled. The final four pages boil the book’s message down to its essence: “I love my dad. And you know what? HE LOVES ME! (And he always will.)” (Ages 4–7)
CCBC Choices 2002 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2002. Used with permission.