Love, Daddy

If ever there was a book tailor-made for helping me transition to reading to my baby girl (after years of reading to my older son), this one is it.           

THREE PROS

*100% delivers on the heartstring-pulling you would expect from the title and cover image

*Author Mike Ang does a great job of guiding us through the key moments of parenthood, hitting everything from that first moment in the delivery room all the way through the role switch necessitated by elder care

*Both my daughter and I really enjoyed the way the pink and white bow scheme popped off the inside covers  

THREE CONS 

*Illustrator Katherine Killeffer more than succeeded at filling each page with relevant items (even sneaking in a few fun personal touches like a college insignia on the car), however the two primary characters, those anthropomorphized koalas, did not appeal to me visually

*Most of the rhyming flowed at a high level, but there were a few spots that sputtered due to an extra phrase 

*While I totally get the point of the wordless intermission page, I also have found that often times the logical pause it presents is outweighed by the confusion it causes for young children...either they don't take the time to look or they expect parents to make up something in the way of text

ONE DAD'S OPINION

Honestly, there's nothing I want more than love.  Love from my daughter for spending time with her.  Love from her toward the books I place in front of her.  Heck, even love from the authors and illustrators whose books I review.  Alas, it's not meant to be every time.  Just now, she got mad at me for telling her hair wasn't black, despite the fact that it is most definitely blonde.  Can't win 'em all, I suppose.  My guess is Ms. Killeffer will soon feel the same anger toward what I have said here.  In the end, though, I hope both ladies come to realize that my blunt honestly is almost as important in this world as that love we all strive to find.                              

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