What My Daddy Loves

by Raissa Figueroa (Author) Raissa Figueroa (Illustrator)

What My Daddy Loves
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

In her joyous authorial debut, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor winner Raissa Figueroa celebrates the warm love between Black fathers and their children.

Capturing a child's perspective and infused with gentle humor, Raissa Figueroa's tender, insightful look at fathers is an irresistible ode to the bond between daddies and the children they love.

Whether it's exploring, learning, dreaming--or anything in between--all daddies love doing things with their kids. In fact, the only thing they love more than spending time with their kids is the kids themselves!

Perfect for Father's Day or any day.

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Hardcover
$19.99

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Kirkus

Starred Review

Captures the joy of the everyday [in] a reminder that what dads love most of all are their little ones. Warm and joyful.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3--At times poignant and at other times expressly affirmative, this book is a heartwarming homage to African American daddies everywhere. On each spread, Figueroa trusts the children's perspectives to describe their fathers: "My daddy loves starting the day with me," and "My daddy loves eating with me." Readers will appreciate fathers and children spending time together, from quiet moments exploring the night sky from the rooftop or nurturing a vegetable garden, to joyful moments building blocks or careening through the supermarket in the basket, to tender moments when a child needs a father for comfort and support or a good night kiss. Each moment is strikingly supported by the artwork. Vivid color illustrations depict Black fathers with their daughters and sons playing, exploring, creating, and discovering together. Daddies come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and are depicted in an array of occupations and hobbies. Figueroa's illustrations truly shine in vibrant color and digital clarity that capture the nuances of expression and form of adults and children in conventional situations with creative appeal. Each illustration is pleasantly crafted with humor and a touch of whimsy. VERDICT A long-awaited, refreshing celebration of African American families in roles that are both reflective, but also universal as part of the community of families everywhere.--C.J. Connor

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Leading on from the refrain "My Daddy loves," children describe various shared activities for a truly affectionate morning-to-night picture of caregiving. While simple text offers high-level summaries (bird-watching, gardening, making music, and playing, among other activities), painterly digital illustrations from Figueroa get into winning specifics via narrative depictions of Black-cued fathers and children with various abilities doting on one another. In an instance of "exploring with me," a dad, locs flying behind, whizzes through a blurry store aisle while pushing a gleeful youth in the cart. In another, a father holds space for a child's sadness: "My daddy loves sitting with me." Of course, "what my daddy loves" most is not an activity, but rather a person--"me"--in this emphatic declaration of paternal devotion. Ages 4-8. (May)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780358588771
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
May 02, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV074000 - Juvenile Fiction | Diversity & Multicultural
JUV017140 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Father's Day
Library of Congress categories
Father and child
African American fathers
African American families
Love, Paternal
Families, Black

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