In praise of fathers - books with lovely daddies!

Amazing Dad
I was just going to look at My Dad by Anthony Browne for this blog post, it seems to cover everything about dads and is such a lovely book. It tells us how the dad is brilliant at all things (football, singing, dancing, wins the race at sport's day easily!) but most of all he's 'my dad'. It's just wonderful and funny!

But then I was thinking about the way fathers are depicted in picture books and thought I'd offer up a small selection to look at. Penguin did a similar thing on their blog this week, they concentrated purely on Penguin books (understandably), but it's still worth a read.

Detached Dad
Gorilla, another Anthony Browne fabby-do whizz-corker of a book, is the story of a dad who just doesn't make time for his daughter. Hannah is desperate for her dad to take notice of her and do some fun things with her. Then one night her toy gorilla comes alive and takes her on a nighttime adventure. Finally her dad takes some notice and they end up going to the zoo together. It's a beautiful, poignant and memorable picture book.

Ridiculous Dad
This isn't really from the picture book genre but Daddy Pig from Peppa Pig is certainly one of the most prolific dads around right now. Poor daddy pig is always getting everything wrong and into all kinds of problems but he's also very hands on and involved!

Adventuring Dad
We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury is superb and an all-time favourite and it's easy to see why. The dad and his kids go on an exciting hunt for a bear through all kinds of terrain with the classic refrain 'We're going on bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one, we're not scared' echoing throughout. When they find the bear though they are scared and end up snuggled in bed all together.

Champion Dad
In The Tiger who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr we see more of Sophie, the little girl, and her mummy than we do of the daddy. But at the end when Sophie's daddy returns and finds Sophie and her mummy with no food or even water in the house he whisks them off to tea at the local cafe. Maybe a bit old fashioned in the 'knight on shining armour' theme but also an extremely comforting thing to happen!

Sleepy Dad
In the Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler the dad spends the whole time asleep while his child goes off on a whole adventure on her own. It's immensely comforting to know that although the child is alone the daddy is there snoozing in the background and would surely come to help if needed!

Disbelieving Dad
In Dogs Don't do Ballet, by Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie, Biff the dog wants to be a ballerina but Dad doesn't think dogs can be ballet dancers and his owner (we don't find out her name because she narrates) is incredibly surprised and delighted when Biff proves them all wrong. The dad in this is a bit stern and serious but is shown to be taking his daughter to the ballet and engaged in her interests. He just doesn't listen to her when she says her dog likes ballet!

Trying to get home Dad
Stickman by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is a heartwarming story of Stickman trying to get home to the family tree to his family. It's an adventure story but also a story of a dad's devotion and love for his family. Finally he returns, just in time for Christmas!

So there you are, a selection of different fathers, I'm sure there's many I've missed and don't even know about!

The 'Tim' books by Edward Ardizzone

We were bought the box set of the 'Tim' books by Edward Ardizzone by my dad when Rosie was only about two years old and I've been saving them to read until she is old enough. I think we're finally there! We've read Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain three times this week so far, they're obviously as appealing now as they were when I was young. Not really a surprise!

They are true classic picture books with superb, beautiful illustrations. They are also great adventure stories of a type that you don't see much of in picture books today. The ending of Tim and the sea captain has Tim asking his parents if he can go away to sea again (after he's been rescued by a lifeboat from a sinking steamer in the middle of the ocean) and his parents say 'yes'. I'd be interested to see if that would get through in a modern picture book!

The story of The Brave Sea Captain is an interesting one because the main protagonist, Tim, doesn't really speak, we're told how he is feeling but he isn't given a voice. However he has plenty of action, from becoming a stowaway and having to work his passage, to becoming violently seasick and then discovering he has been abandoned by all but the captain to a rapidly sinking ship. It's thrilling stuff!

I defintitely have a soft spot for these books because of my own childhood (as you can guess, having purchased them so early on for Rosie, my dad loved them) and also because they feature the coastline of suffolk and little details that recall places I know - the last page of The Brave Sea Captain has the lifeboat men lined up with a flag that says 'Thorpeness Life Boat'. Slight digression here but Thorpeness is a lovely place with a fab boating lake themed around Peter Pan, I have many happy memories of water fights and frolics all over it!

Spaghetti with the Yeti by Adam and Charlotte Guillain, illustrated by Lee Wildish

This is a great fun, rollicking read of a picture book. It's well told and the illustrations are great too. Rosie was a bit tentative when we first read it, I think she thought it might be scary but it's definitely not! It's a bit silly and slapstick, I think Rosie particularly likes the final scene where the main character, George and the Yeti share a tin of spaghetti.

The story of George setting off from his bedroom with his backpack and a tin of spaghetti in search of a Yeti strikes a chord with Rosie because at the moment she is constantly in the world of make-believe. It's all, 'Mummy, pretend I'm this and you're that and then...'. Actually it can be quite exhausting because it all changes so quickly!

George toils up the mountain path in search of the elusive Yeti and each time he thinks he's finally found him it turns out to be another large monster-like creature who is appalled that he would think they are the Yeti. Each one of them has their own opinion on what the Yeti likes to eat and by the end of the story George is trailing a goat and lobster along with him, as well as other things.

It's a feel-good, funny story and we've been enjoying it very much!

Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice by Chris Wormell

Scruffy Bear and the Six White Mice by Chris Wormell is a beautiful picture book, both in terms of the story and the artwork. It recently won the Red House Children's book award in the younger category and since this award is voted for by children it shows that it hits the spot! We've been enjoying reading this a lot although I think it is a little too old for Rosie and will resonate more with children three years and up.

Scruffy Bear is going for a walk at dusk when he hears a squeaking noise of some animals in distress from just inside the wood. He ventures inside and finds six white mice terrified that they are going to be eaten so he takes them under his wing. First they are stopped by Owl who wonders what the six white fluffy balls could be that Scruffy Bear has with him, snowballs, answers Scruffy Bear and Owl nods wisely and goes on his way. Next they are stopped by Fox and then finally by Snake. Each time Scruffy Bear comes up with an ingenious explanation for the six fluffy balls. But do they get away with it?! You'll have to read it to find out!