Customer Reviews

Daddies Are for Catching Fireflies (Lift-the-Flap, Puffin)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a wonderful book for a father to read to his son or daughter. So many of my daughter's books talked about a mother/child relationship, and I hadn't really found any books about a father/child relationship that I liked until I found this book. It talks about the very special things that a father might do for his child, such as teaching him to swim or fixing a broken toy. For example, one page shows a daddy taking his child to a parade. Then the reader lifts the flap to show that the daddy has given his child "the best seat at the parade" by placing him on his shoulders. My daughter likes this book, and so does my husband.

This book would make a wonderful present from a 2 year old for Father's Day. Children from 2-6 should be very pleased with the book. The images and activities are fairly divided between daughters and sons, so it should be equally enjoyable for all young children. The large, pleasant water colors will be accessible for very young children. One year-olds will enjoy looking at the pictures. The book can also be used as a beginning reader around age 5. Lifting the flaps will seem like peek-a-boo for 2-3 year olds and will bring torrents of giggles.

The book basically recounts lots of things that Daddies can help children with. My favorite was an illustration of a dozing Mom in a chair accompanied by the caption: "Sometimes at the end of the day, Daddy puts you to bed."

The book begins by having a girl try on Daddy's shoes and a boy put on Daddy's belt. Dealing with the relative size issue is a good place to start, and by making it humorous can take some of the potential discomfort out of the size differentials between children and the Daddies.

When the flap is lifted, the child is included more directly with Daddy. For example, one illustration shows a Daddy shaving while a boy looks on. The caption is "A daddy shaves." Under the flap, the boy has put some shaving cream on his own face, as well. The caption under the flap says "And is good to smell."

Daddies tickle your feet, mess your hair, try to fix things (not always successfully), help you deal with deep water (and teach you how to swim), protect you from big dogs, answer questions, go to work, and put you on their shoulders so you can see better.

The book creates the expectation that Daddies will do things with their children, but not that Daddies are perfect. As you can see from the example, care is taken to turn Daddy's size into an advantage for the youngster.

A benefit of having a book like this is to encourage Daddies and children to do more things together. Children are often very attached to their Mommies, and some are more than a little afraid of their Daddies. This book sets up an expectation of doing things with Daddies alone sometimes. That's good. Almost all children's books features Mommies doing things with children, so this book helps balance that mental image out.

After you have been reading this book for awhile, I suggest that you ask your child what things Daddies could do that she or he would like that are not listed in the book. That can help you expand your relationship in mutually rewarding ways.

Keep your eyes open for fireflies!

My 20 month old daughter loves this book. The flaps are large and easy to lift. The illustrations are cute. This book does a great job of showing that a lot of the everyday things Daddy's do are special. My daughter often asks to read this when her dad is working late, and she is thinking of him.

I gave this book to my son-in-law on Father's Day. He and my daughter are expecting their first baby in November. He loved the gentle reminder of how many hours of fun he spent catching firefles in his youth.

From wearing Daddy's shoes to climbing on his back, this is a great book. I've bought my daughter the Mommies, Grandma, and Grandpa books also; which she loves to read. It's simplicity shows that it's the little things in life that we treasure the most.

My 18-month old son absolutely loves this book. It is one of his favorites, and he brings it to us saying "Daddy, Daddy" when he wants to read it. The illustrations are cute & simple. The writing is sweet without being syrupy or too corny. It shows Daddy doing activities such as teaching you to swim, fixing your bike, and taking you to the parade. Reading this book with my son is a nice way to remember Daddy while he is at work during the day--it even mentions that "A Daddy goes to work, and hugs you when he comes home." While this is not a board book, the pages are thicker than a regular book. I have found the pages & flaps to be very sturdy in the hands of my toddler. Highly recommended!

This book, along with 'Mommies are for Counting Stars', stereotypes gender roles so much that I probably won't even ready it to my son. Dads are shown as being active, fixing things and going to work, while moms mostly wait for their kids to come home and gestate babies while looking 'like a rose'. Not for families who are even a little progressive, or who have moms that work outside the home, or dads that stay at home.

This book is terrible. I think this is soooo stereotypical it's gross. They say daddies go to work, and daddies do this and that. But what if your daddy is a great daddy and doesn't do some of those things?

The book is cute, but is quite disappointing. The text of of it makes no reference to daddies catching fireflies or fireflies whatsoever. I find this extremely puzzling goven the title of the book...