Wild about Dads

by Diana Murray (Author) Amber Alvarez (Illustrator)

Wild about Dads
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
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
Select format:
Hardcover
$17.99

Find books about:

School Library Journal

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

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

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)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

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

Diana Murray
DIANA MURRAY is the author of the Little Golden Book Firehouse Rainbow: A Story About Colors and Heroes, as well as the bestselling Unicorn Day series, and many other picture books and beginning readers. Diana is a first-generation immigrant who grew up in New York City. She still lives nearby with her husband, two children, and a dog who loves trips to the beach.

ALEXANDRA BYE works as a freelance illustrator specializing in fun, colorful illustrations for a variety of media such as advertising, animation, licensing, editorial, and children's publications. Her work reflects the energy she is inspired by from friends, family and her flourishing New England community. In her free time she enjoys mountain biking, Nordic ski racing, trail running, paddle boarding, camping, Jiu Jitsu, yoga, reading, cooking and hiking in the White Mountains with her fiancé, Alex, and their dog, Oliver.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250315748
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Imprint
Publication date
May 20, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV002000 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | General
Library of Congress categories
Animals
Picture books
Stories in rhyme
Fathers
Parental behavior in animals

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!