This is My Dad
The perfect dad isn't always a father
Published on 1. March 2022
Book
Hardback
24 pages
978-1-922539-07-6 (ISBN)
Description
This is My Dad celebrates families of all shapes and sizes in a heartfelt, beautifully illustrated story that parents and carers will love sharing with their children.
Most of the time, Leo loves Show and Tell at school. But when his teacher announces that next up is Tell Us About Your Dad Day, his tummy ties into knots and he tries to disappear into the corner of the classroom. His classmates can't wait but all Leo can think is ... 'how can I celebrate someone I've never met?'
Leo is an only child living with his mother, and has never known a father figure. His mother is his hero: as a children's author, she spends most of her time battling monsters and creating awesome new worlds! When Tell Us About Your Dad Day comes around, Leo worries that he won't have anything to present to his class. After fruitlessly searching high and low for clues about his father, he realises that he already knows someone cool, courageous and clever - someone who's not his dad, but is his everything.
This is My Dad is a timely, important and heart-warming look at modern family dynamics. It highlights that families come in all shapes and sizes, and they are all worthy of celebration. With one in four children in the UK living with a single parent, and 90% of those parents being a woman, Leo's family situation will resonate with millions of children, and will provide a valuable insight for millions more.
Most of the time, Leo loves Show and Tell at school. But when his teacher announces that next up is Tell Us About Your Dad Day, his tummy ties into knots and he tries to disappear into the corner of the classroom. His classmates can't wait but all Leo can think is ... 'how can I celebrate someone I've never met?'
Leo is an only child living with his mother, and has never known a father figure. His mother is his hero: as a children's author, she spends most of her time battling monsters and creating awesome new worlds! When Tell Us About Your Dad Day comes around, Leo worries that he won't have anything to present to his class. After fruitlessly searching high and low for clues about his father, he realises that he already knows someone cool, courageous and clever - someone who's not his dad, but is his everything.
This is My Dad is a timely, important and heart-warming look at modern family dynamics. It highlights that families come in all shapes and sizes, and they are all worthy of celebration. With one in four children in the UK living with a single parent, and 90% of those parents being a woman, Leo's family situation will resonate with millions of children, and will provide a valuable insight for millions more.
Reviews / Votes
This is My Dad is an important book for families that may not find themselves represented in picture books often. It is also a useful resource for any family wishing to explore different family structures. The topic is sensitively negotiated by the picture book creators who craft a space in which many different families could fit and feel comfortable while telling a story that is both realistic and positive. * Picture Book Parents * A unique and touching way to deal with having a single parent during Show and Tell. Pastel illustrations echo the mood. * Pinerolo (The Children's Book Cottage Newsletter) * I love that this story covers such a sensitive topic: What do children who are being raised in a single-caregiver family do with assignments that ask them to talk about the other carer? * corneroncharacter.blogspot.com * ... a great heads-up for teachers but also a book which appears to be for littlies but which can enable older students to examine their own perspectives at arm's length, perhaps even reflect on their own situations and how that has shaped them. * The Bottom Shelf * The story explores this family dynamic experienced by millions of children, in a positive and creative way. It tells the story of Leo, whose normal love of show and tell turns to dread when he is asked to talk about his father, who he has never known. 'How can I celebrate someone I've never met?' he worries. * Buzz Words * Busts through typical family stereotypes and conventions in all of the best ways. * Kids' Book Review * With many children only living with a single parent, this book is a great reminder to all that families come in all shapes and sizes. * Swings and Roundabouts, a magazine * Leo has never known his father, so This is my Dad day at school has his stomach tied in knots. While working out what to do about it, he discovers he already has a parent with all the heroic qualities he imagines his absent father to hold. This gorgeous picture book by Dimity Powell and Nicky Johnston celebrates single-parent families. I wish I'd had this book when I was widowed at 42 with a 5-year-old. Whether they're subjected to card-making for Father's or Mother's day, or just the endless references to 'mum and dad' in the classroom, children from sole-parent families face a barrage of reminders at school that they are 'different'. This book serves as a prompt for important discussions about the varied shapes of modern families. It's a reminder that parents raising children alone due to death, divorce or choice can be superheroes. It encourages children to focus less on what they lack and more on what they have. And it gives a certain type of family long-overdue representation. * Emma Grey * This is a great story. (EK Books) puts out so many thoughtful books like this. And I honestly think it fills a very important gap among all the wonderful books celebrating moms and dads that we pull out around Mother's Day and Father's Day. I truly think you can put this one on your shelf for either holiday. * Dad Suggests * The book resonated with me. I am an only child, I was brought up with my mother, I guess playing mum and dad ... very similar story to Leo. When i was at school people would say 'where is your Dad?', and my mum was my dad. I would have loved a book like this when I was going through primary school, I would have said, 'Hey look Leo is me! -- Ken Williams * Reading with a chance of tacos *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Zealand
Publishing group
Exisle Publishing
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: From Preschool to Third Grade, Interest Age: From 4 to 8 years
Illustrations
color illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 261 mm
Width: 254 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
366 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-922539-07-6 (9781922539076)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Dimity Powell writes for children because she would secretly love to be one again. To support this fantasy she produces sometimes silly, sometimes sad, always sparkly stories for school magazines, anthologies, online apps as creative digital content, and as junior novels and picture books. Many of her stories have been shortlisted or won awards including her digital narrative, The Chapel of Unlove for the Story City App, shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards 2016. Two of her picture books feature on the Kindergo App and appear as part of Virgin Australia's Inflight Children's Entertainment Program. PS Who Stole Santa's Mail? filled the Christmas stockings of children everywhere for the first time in 2012. At the End of Holyrood Lane is her second picture book with EK Books. The Fix-It Man, also illustrated by Nicky Johnston, debuted in 2017. Dimity is also Managing Editor of highly respected children's literature website Kids' Book Review, and a Books in Homes role model. Her past adventures include skiing the French Alps, Kombiing around a quarter of Australia, spotting manatees in Florida, and getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle. She's tried a few grown-up jobs, but thinks it's more fun writing for children now because she believes that great stories - like ice-cream - are life essentials. One day, she would love to travel to Lapland and meet Santa for real.
Nicky Johnston is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. She has several bestselling titles published in Australia and overseas, including At the End of Holyrood Lane, The Fix-It Man, Grandma Forgets, The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp, Saying Goodbye to Barkley, This is My Dad and Upside-Down Friday, all published by EK Books. Nicky's illustration style is often described as whimsical, playful, narrative, emotive and colourful. She loves to work in watercolour, ink, pencils and pastel. As a primary teacher and acclaimed presenter, Nicky's love of books sees her thoroughly enjoy taking illustrator workshops and visiting schools regularly. She is passionate about inspiring young children with a love for reading, writing and drawing, encouraging them to use their imagination and develop their own ideas. Nicky lives by the beach with her husband and four sons.
Nicky Johnston is an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. She has several bestselling titles published in Australia and overseas, including At the End of Holyrood Lane, The Fix-It Man, Grandma Forgets, The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp, Saying Goodbye to Barkley, This is My Dad and Upside-Down Friday, all published by EK Books. Nicky's illustration style is often described as whimsical, playful, narrative, emotive and colourful. She loves to work in watercolour, ink, pencils and pastel. As a primary teacher and acclaimed presenter, Nicky's love of books sees her thoroughly enjoy taking illustrator workshops and visiting schools regularly. She is passionate about inspiring young children with a love for reading, writing and drawing, encouraging them to use their imagination and develop their own ideas. Nicky lives by the beach with her husband and four sons.