Daddy

Starred review from July 1, 2021

Toddler-PreS-Patricelli's round-faced baby is back in this delightful board book celebrating fathers. The baby, who is pinkish, introduces its dad in rhyming text describing his physical features and activities they do together. "Daddy likes to sing to me./ I play horsey on his knee." Gender stereotypes are pushed against in a compilation of tasks Dad accomplishes such as cleaning, giving a bath, and cooking. The closing pages feature a variety of dads of all skin colors, including a family that has two dads. A first purchase for libraries everywhere.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2021
Mommy by Leslie Patricelli; illus. by the author Preschool Candlewick 26 pp. g 3/21 978-1-5362-0381-3 $7.99 Spanish ed. 978-1-5362-1811-4 $7.99 Fans of Patricelli's board-book baby (most recently Doggie Gets Scared and Mad, Mad, MAD, both rev. 9/20) already know and love the adorable youngster, but here Mommy and Daddy (Mami and Papi in the concurrently published Spanish editions) get their own places to shine. In simple, lilting text, our protagonist discusses Mom and Dad's superlative traits and describes special time spent with each of them: "Mommy hugs, Mommy kisses. / Mommy says that I'm delicious! / Now we dance. Wiggle, wiggle. / I can make my mommy giggle." "Daddy likes to sing with me. / I play horsey on his knee...Daddy cooks. / Daddy cleans. / My daddy can do anything!" Patricelli's recognizable color-saturated and textured art, with thick black outlines and rosy-cheeked characters, is always welcome, and now, especially, pandemic-weary parents may appreciate the boost. Elissa Gershowitz

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2021
Fans of Patricelli's board-book baby (most recently Doggie Gets Scared and Mad, Mad, MAD, both rev. 9/20) already know and love the adorable youngster, but here Mommy and Daddy (Mami and Papi in the concurrently published Spanish editions) get their own places to shine. In simple, lilting text, our protagonist discusses Mom and Dad's superlative traits and describes special time spent with each of them: "Mommy hugs, Mommy kisses. / Mommy says that I'm delicious! / Now we dance. Wiggle, wiggle. / I can make my mommy giggle." "Daddy likes to sing with me. / I play horsey on his knee...Daddy cooks. / Daddy cleans. / My daddy can do anything!" Patricelli's recognizable color-saturated and textured art, with thick black outlines and rosy-cheeked characters, is always welcome, and now, especially, pandemic-weary parents may appreciate the boost.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)