My Daddy Is a Cowboy

Author

Stephanie Seales

Illustrator

C G Esperanza

Publication Date

June 11, 2024

Genre / Grade Band

Fiction / 2^nd − 3^rd

Language

English

Format

Picture Book

Hardcover

Description

A young girl and her father share an early morning horseback ride around their city in My Daddy Is a Cowboy, a picture book celebration of “just-us time,” perfect for fans of My Papi Has a Motocycle.

Tall. High as the clouds.
Strong as a horse’s back.
Like a cowboy.

In the early hours before dawn, a young girl and her father greet their horses and ride together through the waking city streets. As they trot along, Daddy tells cowboy stories filled with fun and community, friendship, discovery, and pride. Seeing her city from a new vantage point and feeling seen in a new way, the child discovers that she too is a cowboy—strong and confident in who she is.

Thoughtfully and lyrically written by debut author Stephanie Seales, with vibrant illustrations from award-winning artist C. G. Esperanza, this beautiful picture book is a celebration of Black joy, outdoor play, and quality time spent between child and parent.

Publication date

June 11, 2024

Genre

Fiction

ISBN-13

9781419760815

Publisher

Abrams Books for Young Readers

BISAC categories

Kirkus

Starred Review

A magical celebration of family, freedom, and Black joy.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 2-5--Papá rides his horse, Power, and our young narrator rides her "poni" Clover in this introspective story about their love of horses. This Spanish-language picture book offers vivid images of city cowboys, linking one Panamanian family to the cowboy tradition, with an urban twist. Birds wake up as father and daughter mosey past storefronts and cafés, and he tells her how he became a cowboy. Neighbors open their shops and wave hello while the sun rises. Back at the ranch, Papá's cowboy friends gather to start their day, and our storyteller's morning with dad is over, but the best memory of this ride will always be bound to spending time with Papá, the cowboy. Seales's text beautifully complements Esperanza's nighttime scenes on a ranch and pre-dawn street scenes in the city. Opportunities abound in this book for both family and classroom conversations about urban and country life--and may generate more avenues for budding authors to absorb what brings people from different communities together. VERDICT Spanish-language readers will enjoy the journey, learning new words and connecting with cowboy life through the eyes of a young girl on horseback.--Sharon Sherman

Stephanie Seales

Stephanie Seales is a storyteller, dreamer, and doer who is passionate about racial equity. She's also a children's literature expert who's worked in almost every aspect of the book business. She understands the power of story and follows Toni Morrison's advice, writing the books she wants to read. She dreams and creates near the water in the Hudson Valley, New York. C. G. Esperanza is the award-winning illustrator of Soul Food Sunday, which received a Coretta Scott King Honor, and the author-illustrator of Boogie, Boogie, Y'all, which received a Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Honor among many other awards. He lives in the Bronx, New York.

Coretta Scott King Book Award

Illustrator Winner 2025

Randolph Caldecott Medal

Honor Book 2025

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