Mighty Dads

by Joan Holub, James Dean

Overview

A new constructacular picture book from the New York Times bestselling creator of Pete the Cat, James Dean and bestselling author, Joan Holub.

Mighty dads, strong and tall,help their children, young and small.They keep them safe and bolted tightand show them how to build things right.Inventively told through James Dean's colorful construction vehicle characters, MIGHTY DADS is an adoring dedication to hardworking fathers and the subtle ways they teach their boys and girls to follow in their tracks. The Dump Trucks learn to get dirty. Crane keeps his little one safe from harm. The busy Cement Mixer gives his daughter a hug. The Forklift cheers his son on.A surprising and touching view of a father's love for his children, MIGHTY DADS is the perfect way to say: I'm proud of you!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545612913
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	04/29/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	819,636
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

JAMES DEAN's art has sold in more than ninety galleries and shops across the United States. He has devoted his paintings to Pat le chat for fifteen years and has turned his natural love for cats into his life's work. He illustrated his first self-published children's book, Pat le chat : J'adore mes souliers blancs, in 2008. James lives in Savannah, Georgia, with his wife Kimberly.

Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated more than 130 children's books. With Suzanne Williams she is the author of the popular Goddess Girls, Heroes in Training, and Grimmtastic Girls series. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and can be found at joanholub.com.

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—The dads at this construction site teach by example and encourage their youngsters to strive to do their best. For example, there's Excavator Big, who "helps little Vator dig./They go/ scoop,/scoop,/scoop." The patterned text continues in this vein, "Steamroller Brave/shows little Roller how to pave./They go roll,/roll,/ roll." Other father-and-son teams include Bulldozer and Dozy, Boom Truck and Boomer, Cement Mixer and Mixie, Dump Truck and Dumpy, Backhoe and Hoe-Hoe, Grader and Grady, Forklift and Forky. The action verbs and sound effects (crash, bang, boom!) abound as the adults demonstrate how to get jobs done and extol the virtues of being "strong," "steady," and "true-blue," in addition to being "brave" and "wise." The heavy-outlined cartoon artwork depicts the machines prominently profiled and personified on the page with a simply drawn eye in the passenger-side window or windshield (the only white space on most spreads). There is nothing out of the ordinary about the rhyme or the artwork, but the message of "Mighty Dads say,/'I'm proud of you!/ Tomorrow let's build/something new!'" is just the ticket for vehicle-obsessed youngsters who can't get enough of construction play.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

03/10/2014
“Like father, like son” holds true even when Dad and Junior are heavy-duty construction equipment. “Dump Truck Sturdy/ teaches Dumpy to get dirty/ They go fill, drive, dump,” writes Holub (Little Red Writing), as Pete the Cat creator Dean shows a hulking blue and red truck create an impressive mountain while his offspring makes an adorable molehill. Like the best 21st-century human dads, the vehicles don’t just show their kids the ropes—they also offer plenty of TLC (“Cement Mixer Busy/ gives a hug if Mixie’s dizzy”) and affirmation (“Forklift Wise/ cheers whenever Forky tries”). Dean’s decision to anthropomorphize the construction equipment solely through a highly stylized, often single, forward-facing eye takes some getting used to—imagine a cross between the Eye of Providence on the dollar bill and a Egyptian hieroglyph. But his construction sign–inspired palette and ability to convey calm, steady affection between parent and progeny quickly outweighs this visual idiosyncrasy, making this a book worthy of any young armchair foreman. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Liza Pulitzer Voges, Eden Street Literary. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"...the message of 'Mighty Dads say,/I'm proud of you!/ Tomorrow let's build/something new!' is just the ticket for vehicle-obsessed youngsters who can't get enough of construction play." — School Library Journal"This makes for a perfect choice for story hours — the vivid verbs demand to be chanted and dramatized..." — Booklist

From the Publisher

2014-03-17
Big-daddy and little-kid trucks of all kinds are busy at work on a construction site. Holub uses rhyme—which is often forced—and repetition to create what is most likely intended to be an over-the-top interactive reading-aloud success. Some phrasing really works: "Excavator Big / helps little Vator dig. / They go scoop, scoop, scoop." Others are not as impressive: "Backhoe Steady / waits for Hoe-Hoe to get ready. / They go trench, trench, trench." Along the way, cranes reach, boom trucks crash, mixers pour and steamrollers pave. Each spread features Dean's (Pete the Cat series) brightly hued vehicles—one huge and one tiny. They are always calmly working together. Each wears the exact same heavy-lidded expression, except when the day is done and it looks as though all the trucks are sleeping. Clearly a Dean trademark, this nevertheless comes across as a missed opportunity to visually engage readers and add some energy. Shouldn't these dad-and-child pairs look like they're having a good time together? Sure to enjoy commercial success thanks to the marquee talent, this effort will result in more disappointment than enjoyment. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews