Customer Reviews

My Dad

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When my husband read this book to our 5 month old son for the first time, tears welled in his eyes and he said "I love being a Dad so much!"

Kids and adults alike will relate to many if not all of the situations a Dad can overcome in this book. Lots of discussion and imagination stretching can be had after reading each page in this beautifully presented text. The quirky illustrations with the everpresent plaid dressing gown in every picture make for an entertaining book for all ages.

My Dad makes a great gift for any child who loves Dad and any Dad who adores his child.

My grandson lives a long ways from me. He spent a couple weeks w/me while his parents went on vacation. We read this book every night and he loved it so that he could finish all the sentences on the pages. When he went back home, he could talk w/me on the phone and I'd start the sentence and he would finish it. It made a great bond for us and somehow made the miles seem shorter. He's only 1 1/2 years old and I miss so much. Maybe thru this book he won't forget me!

Children often see their fathers as unstoppable heroes. This book makes that case. One of the best ways to inspire a father to become even better in that role is to describe him in heroic ways. Fathers almost never see themselves in a suit of armor. But fathers will gladly wear the plating for a child, and love every moment of it. Mom or grandparents can create a lot of happiness for a father and his children by giving this book to preschoolers. Although the book is aged older by the publisher, I think it will work best for 2-5 year olds. The winning words of the text are made into brilliant images by the illustrations that take the words into a playful world of "what if."

Fathers will take heart from the way their heroism is portrayed. They get to look like themselves part of the time, in bathrobe and exaggerated smiles. When the book says that they can jump over the moon, the illustration makes it clear that this is an optical illusion helped by having the moon be low on the horizon and the father being close to the viewer. A father also becomes as big as a house (not fat, mind you) by standing very close, again, to the viewer.

But there are magical moments, when father is transformed into anthropomorphic animals wearing remnants of his normal attire. These are hilarious. I especially liked the one where dad is "as happy as a hippopotamus."

The text does have a few places where real accomplishments are needed. "He can . . . win the father's race on sports day, easily." "My dad's a great dancer, and a ballet singer." "He's fantastic at soccer . . . ." Fathers, don't be threatened by this! After all, the perspective is that of a preschooler, and you can do great things in all of those dimensions!

My favorite part of the book was the end when the child says, "I love my dad, And you know what? HE LOVE ME! (And he always will.)" This comes accompanied by a beautiful illustration of a father-child hug. Ah.

You can make this an even more special Father's Day by including more items in the book that exemplify how your child thinks her or his dad is special. If your child will make some illustrations to go with those examples, you can touch even more heart strings and make the beautiful music of familial love. Then present these drawings inside the book, as a combined gift from Mom or grandparents and the children.

"He's all right, my dad."

Happy Father's Day!

I love Anthony Brown books especially due to his amazing drawings.
In this short book (short of words, that is) it is again the drawings that do the work.
Each page presents the father as another animal figure dressed in Dad's pajamas, depicting all the animal' s great qualities.
The pictures are great as usual, but something is missing. It seems that there are no "further layers" as you get for example in Anthony Brown's "Gorilla", a book which I feel is a real masterpiece. In that book, every reading brings something new when the little details of the drawings offer another aspect, another small joke and all in all add to the reading of the story, which becomes a real "experience" both child and parent can enjoy. This does not really happen in "My Dad".
The only "something else" I found in "My Dad" is the fact that the father, although described by the son as a superhuman figure, is presented very humanly in each page. Always in his pajamas with his unshaven face - which makes him ever so dear and easy to identify with.
I read the book to my 2.5 year old son who enjoys the book and its simplistic message. My disappointment is not because this is not a worthy book. It is. I was just hoping for another masterpiece...

Some things in life are best kept simple. This book does it. For any son that loves his father (uh...provided they are under the age of 10)

From the inside covers to Dad's robe to toast popping out of the toaster to showing the Big Bad Wolf the door & walking a tightrope to wrestling giants; to eating like a horse & swimming like a fish; to being as big as a house & as soft of a teddy bear, to singing brilliantly & being as wise as an owl - everything matches Dad's plaid robe, blue striped pjs & red comfy slippers.

With a smile on every page - this is a book forever - about respecting & loving, admiring & encouraging the Dads of this world to unite & win over their children's hearts.

Lovely, lovely book & oh, so true! A charming keeper!

I don't own this book. I do, however, have a 2-year old child. Recently, my daughter, along with a room filled with other 2-4 year olds, sat enthralled as this book was read to them by our local librarian. (It makes a great Father's day book!) The kids were all seated on the floor, heads all leaning in toward the librarian, pointing and giggling along with this little boy and his amazing dad. None of the children squirmed around or wandered off or turned around to annoy their little brother. Amazing! For me, that's a sign that this must be a pretty interesting book to kids. Read the other reviews for the story line but, if you're looking for a book that does a great job giving fathers everywhere their due, buy this book now.

The book "My Dad" by Anthony Browne is a book that from time to time I have pulled out and read to my son, ever year since he was born. It is a book that we both enjoy and laugh at. This book is a keeper and one that has such great memories attached to it. Simple yet packed with so much meaning to us.

I enjoy reading this book to my son. I think it has good rhythm and is amusing. I like the illustrations that go along with each description. Like in "My dad eats like a horse," the illustration is of a horse sitting at a table wearing the silly robe ready to eat.

The 5 star review is on behalf of my daughter who is almost 3 and loves this book, she keeps it checked out from the library all the time and sleeps with it in her bed. She has memorized the book and can read it to herself. Buying it from amazon now so that the library can have their book back for others to read. I like that it's not very long or wordy, so I can get her in bed more quickly that way, she likes to read a few books before bed so I like to have a few short ones to go through instead of one long one.