Wild About Dads

by Diana Murray, Amber Alvarez (Illustrator)

Overview

See lions snuggle on the savanna and groundhogs play on the prairie in Diana Murray's Wild About Dads, a heartwarming picture book that celebrates dads of all kinds—featuring illustrations by Amber Alvarez!

Dads can help you reach up high,
and help to keep you warm and dry.
Dads are strong, dads are brave,
but sometimes dads could use a shave.

Everyone loves dads—humans, lions, frogs, prairie dogs, and even pelicans! See all these animals snuggle their little ones in this sweet, rhyming picture book that celebrates fatherhood in its many forms.

Perfect for Father’s Day and showing dads how much they mean to you every day of the year.

An Imprint Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250788887
Publisher:	Imprint
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	53 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Diana Murray grew up in New York City and still lives nearby with her husband and two daughters. Some of Diana’s picture books include Doris the Bookasaurus, Five Fuzzy Chicks, Grimelda: The Very Messy Witch, Ned the Knitting Pirate, and City Shapes. Her poems have appeared in magazines including Highlights, High Five, and Spider.

Amber Alvarez grew up on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in a family of artists, makers, and comedians. Her dad taught her how to draw. She has her BFA from Pratt Insitute in Brooklyn, New York. Her illustrations happen in her art studio in Utah, where she lives with her husband and their wild bulldog puppy, Winston. Amber illustrated the picture book, Wild About Dads.

Diana Murray grew up in New York City and still lives nearby with her husband, two daughters, and a spiky bearded dragon who loves listening to stories—especially about dinosaurs. Some of Diana’s picture books include Wild About Dads, Five Fuzzy Chicks, Doris the Bookasaurus, Grimelda: The Very Messy Witch, Ned the Knitting Pirate, and City Shapes. Her poems have appeared in magazines including Highlights, High Five, and Spider.
Amber Alvarez grew up on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, in a family of artists, makers, and comedians. Her dad taught her how to draw. She has her BFA from Pratt Insitute in Brooklyn, New York. Her illustrations happen in her art studio in Utah, where she lives with her husband and their wild bulldog puppy, Winston. Amber illustrated the picture book, Wild About Dads.

Editorial Reviews

05/25/2020

Comparing frequently attested human filial attributes to those of animal fathers, Murray tackles the age-old question: “what are dads like, anyway?” Alongside Alvarez’s colorful, swooping illustrations of creaturely families, rhyming lines describe the ways that male animals help their young: “Dads can help you reach up high” accompanies a bearded emperor tamarin assisting a little one with hanging fruit; “and help to keep you warm and dry” shows emperor penguins balancing fluffy chicks on their feet. Other animal families featured include African wild dogs, eagles, gorillas, pelicans, and sandhill cranes. The claim that “no two dads are quite the same” may fly in the face of the book’s more generalized accounting (“Dads like fishing in the creek,/ and playing games, like hide-and-seek”), but Murray makes it clear that many fathers, animal and human alike, are capable caretakers. Back matter lists dad facts about each species referenced. Ages 3–6. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"This heartwarming story depicts dads in the animal kingdom...Suitable for read-alouds and a solid choice for Father’s Day." — School Library Journal

"A fascinating look at dads in the animal world." — Kirkus

"Murray makes it clear that many fathers, animal and human alike, are capable caretakers. Back matter lists dad facts about each species referenced." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

05/01/2020

PreS-Gr 1—This heartwarming story depicts dads in the animal kingdom. Murray uses rhyming couplets to explore fatherhood among animals including eagles, pelicans, hippos, and foxes. "Dads like fishing in a creek, and playing games, like hide-and-seek." That text is paired with an image of an eagle diving toward a fish while his eaglets awaits in a nest, and another image of a prairie dog father peeking underground to see his many playful pups. The colorful palette of the matte illustrations connotes the warm relationships between male parents and children. The book opens and closes with a diverse group of human fathers interacting with their children. Back matter includes accessible facts about the animals featured. VERDICT Suitable for read-alouds and a solid choice for Father's Day.—Ramarie Beaver, formerly at Plano Public Library, TX

School Library Journal

2020-03-15
Three human dads bookend this list of things animal dads do for their children, and readers will find them all to be very familiar.

“Dads can help you reach up high, // and help to keep you warm and dry.” These two double-page spreads show, first, a marmoset with a baby on his back reaching for some red berries and then penguin dads with their chicks on their feet. Some anthropomorphization creeps in with eagle dads, who “like fishing,” and prairie dog dads, who enjoy “playing games, like hide-and-seek.” Among the author’s unusual animal choices are pelicans, sandhill cranes, African wild dogs, poison dart frogs, and bearded emperor tamarins. A final spread in the backmatter shows a vignette illustration of each species and one to three sentences of further information about the animals and their dad duties: “Sun-grebe dads carry young hatchlings in a pocket under their wings to keep them safe” (disappointingly, this is inaccurately depicted like a kangaroo’s pouch); “Marmoset dads groom, feed, and carry their babies on their backs.” This info will fascinate those young children with the patience to sit still to listen to this text-dense spread after the terse couplets. Alvarez’s full-bleed illustrations lightly anthropomorphize her animal subjects with smiles and some postures. The bright colors will attract an audience.

A fascinating look at dads in the animal world who behave similarly to human dads. (Informational picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews