Dad

In this world, Dads come in all shapes and sizes. Of those depicted thirteen are wild animals including birds, the others are humans. Of the former, the order of those presented is carefully thought out, so for example a large green frog with three tadpoles on his back is captioned ‘Dad is here now’. Turn the page and there’s a nest containing two baby owls and opposite is a large owl flying from that nest and the words, ‘Dad had to go away.’

Further contrasts include a seahorse holding his offspring safely in his pouch – ‘Dad holds on tight’ we read; after this comes a rather fearsome shark above which is, ‘Dad needs a lot of space.’ and below are two shark pups. I had to smile at the picture of the porcupine accidentally poking his little one with a very sharp spine, this is one of the mistakes mentioned, whereas the Lion snuggling with one of two cubs ‘makes you feel safe.’ as does the Dad penguin with a chick on one of his feet. The human fathers too are a diverse lot.  One is a wheelchair user, another is absent altogether, ‘Dad is with you even when he’s not’ and several watch their little ones grow. It’s good to see tenderness depicted – a dad wiping away a small child’s tears and another shedding tears of his own.

Look carefully at the bold, textured illustrations and there’s a richness of subtle details: the Dad gorilla said to be ‘strong’ has a look in his eyes that show a possible vulnerability about his role. for instance; some animals already introduced are depicted on the clothing and other belongings of several of the humans.

Altogether this is a powerful affirmation of dads that will mean a lot to human dads and their little ones.