Father picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.*
Picture Books
A Bed of Stars
by Jessica Love (Author, Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Candlewick. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1536212396.
Brief summary: A boy with trouble falling asleep goes camping with his father. They pack up the pickup truck, Darlin’, and head for the desert. His father tells him about the plants and animal tracks. They build a fire and watch the sun set while sitting on the hood of the pickup until the stars come out. They get in the sleeping bag in the truck bed, enjoying the stars above them.
His father is able to teach his son how to connect with the universe and not feel so small. They drive home, where Mom has a surprise waiting for their boy.
Rating: 4/5 šššš
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Finding Papa
by Angela Pham Krans (Author), Thi Bui (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā HarperCollins, 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0063060968.
Brief summary: Mai and her papa like to play crocodile chomp with their hands. Papa leaves Vietnam to go to America to make a better life for his wife and daughter. Mai does not understand where her father has gone and waits for him to return each day to play. Mama packs and bag and takes her little one on a long journey through the rice paddies, across a river, and onto a boat across the ocean to a refugee camp in Singapore until they are released when Mama travels in the city to find her husband.
This story is based on the author and her mother, who journeyed in 1983 from Vietnam to America. Both author and illustrator share their families’ journey of immigration.
Rating: 4/5 šššš
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Basketball Dreams
by Chris Paul (Author), Courtney Lovett (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Roaring Brook Press. 2023. Prek-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1250810038.
Brief summary: Chris wants to become a basketball player and looks up to his granddad, Papa Chilly, for guidance as the man’s dreams have come true. He gets up early to practice. He learns how to be a good team player and to help others. Papa Chilly attends Chris’s games and cheers him on.
The back page has Chris Paul’s recollection of his grandfather and a photo of them.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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Daddy & Me, Side by Side
by Pierce Freelon (Author), Nadia Fisher (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2023. Prek-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0316055864.
Brief summary:Ā A father and son go camping together. As they hike and fish, the father shares how he did the same with his father, who recently died. It almost feels like Pop-Pop is there with them as they create new and share old memories of being together.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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Trucker Kid
by Carol Gordon Ekster (Author), Russ Cox (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Capstone Editions. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1684466214.
Brief summary: Athena misses her father when he is trucking and has to leave the family for days. She loves ANYTHING to do with eighteen-wheelers and is proud to be a Trucker Kid. She shares her joy and enthusiasm with the kids at school. Her classmates understand her passion once her father visits the school via his semi to share everything about his job.
The back pages have sectionsĀ Keep on TruckingĀ andĀ Author’s Note.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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Baba’s Gift: A Persian Father’s Love of Family
by Ariana Shaheen Amini (Author), Christina Maheen Amini (Author), Elaheh Taherian (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Little Bigfoot. 2023. Grades 2-4. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1632173232.
Brief summary: Baba shares stories with his six daughters while they sit and play on the Persian carpet of his boyhood in Iran and his stories of immigrating to America.
This is based on the true story of Dr. Fariborz Amini. Authors’ Notes in the back have a photo of the lovely family.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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Hurry, Kate, or You’ll Be Late!
by Janice N. Harrington (Author), Tiffany Rose (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Margaret Ferguson Books. 2023. PreK-1. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0823445103.
Brief summary: Kate was late to preschool this morning, but why? Was it because of her breakfast? Because she and her dad stopped to wave at friends?
Young readers will follow Kate and her father’s journey to go to preschool and ask to figure out and predict why Kate was late.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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Pop’s Perfect Present
by Corey Finkle (Author), Lenny Wen (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1250819444.
Brief summary: A young girl tries to think of the best gift to give her father because he is such a wonderful Pop. As they spend the day together, each attempt of creating the present is a failure. Will she be able to give her father the perfect present?
Humorous rhyming with a fun rhythm.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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No Fair!
by Jacob Grant (Author, Illustrator).Publisher ā : ā Viking Books for Young Readers. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0593117699.
Brief summary: Pablo and his father get on their bikes while their dog, Waffles, runs aside them. It’s Market Day, and Pablo wants a donut, but it is allowed once all the shopping is finished. As Pablo tries to help, he finds that everything he picks out is too big. He protests, “Not fair!” Will he realize with the help of his dad that not all things are fair?
This book could be a shared read-aloud with the father’s voice in black ink and the son’s in red.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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My Dad Is a DJ
by Kathryn Erskine (Author), Keith Henry Brown (Author, Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0374307424.
Brief summary: Trevor’s parents separate, and his father moves out. They once shared time listening to music late in the night after his father returned from being DJ. They would shoot baskets after school. He would even hear his father dedicate songs to him over the radio.
Lately, though, they have yet to connect since he moved out. His food preferences are different. He has a new friend his father has yet to meet. The end-of-the-year dance is coming up that his father has DJed. Will combining the latest hip-hop that Trevor likes and the soul his father favors work out? Will DJing together bring them closer?
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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Dad and Daddy’s Big Big Family
by Seamus Kirst (Author), Karen Bunting (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Magination Press. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1433840388.
Brief summary:Ā Harper packs a suitcase and drives to a huge family reunion in a park with her fathers, where she meets family members for the first time, like her cousins, second cousins, and first cousins once removed. She also meets family she already knows. Harper learns that she has some things the same and different from everyone, but they are all connected by their love for one another.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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Daddy Dressed Me
by Michael Gardner (Author), Ava Gardner (Author), Nadia Fisher (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Aladdin. 2023. PreK-2. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1665921954.
Brief summary: Ava’s father is good at making things but especially sewing her dresses for special occasions. She will recite a poem onstage during Move Up Day and is worried she will forget the words.
Her father tells the nervous girl that he will help her memorize the lines and would like to sew a unique dress to boost her confidence. Will both of their hard work pay off on the big day?
Based on a true story which can be found in the back–The Story Behind the Story. Loved to see the photos of the real father and daughter duo.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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Maribelās Year
by Michelle Sterling (Author), Sarah Gonzales (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Katherine Tegen Books. 2023. PreK-3. Hardcover Picture Book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0063114357.
Brief summary: Maribel must wait an entire year before her father, who is in the Philippines, can rejoin his daughter and wife in America. Each month the young girl tells about the memories of her father and the emotional thoughts she has that he is with them again.
Illustrations change with each month and capture the feelings and thoughts of Maribel.
Rating: 4/5 šššš
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My Dad Is a Tree
by Jon Agee (Author). Publisher ā : ā Rocky Pond Books. 2023. Prek-2. Hardcover picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0593531372.
Brief summary: A young girl asks her father to stand with his arms outstretched and become a tree.
This whimsical story continues throughout the day, with more creatures visiting the father and making themselves comfortable as though he were a real tree.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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Papa’s Home
by David Soman (Author). Publisher ā : āLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2023. PreK-2. Hardback picture book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-0316427838.
Brief summary: Papa is going away for a little while, and Aunt Jessie will come to take care of the little bear. Father and son spend the day doing activities together. At the same time, the child asks questions about what it will be like when the father is away. The father quietly answers his child’s many questions with reassurance that everything will be okay.
Lovely illustrations that capture the emotional expressions of the father and child.
The text in this book allows for a reader’s theater opportunity with the child’s voice in green ink; Papa’s in purple ink.
Rating: 4.5/5 šššš1/2
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Board Books
Daddy’s Hugs and Snuggles
by Linda Ashman (Author), Jane Massey (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā Cartwheel Books. 2023. Baby-3. Board book with thick cardstock(not cardboard). ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1338854046.
Brief summary: A child tells in rhyme what their father does with them in that part of the day while another child continues until young readers have learned the morning, noon, and evening routines.
Rating: 3/5 ššš
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Daddy and Me
by Gary Urda (Author), Rosie Butcher (Illustrator). Publisher ā : ā little bee books. 2023. Baby-3. Board book. ISBN-13 ā : ā 978-1499813517.
Brief summary: Each child shares what activity they share with their father.
Diverse with different families, backgrounds, and what the child calls their father. Papa, Dada, Pops, Baba, and so forth.
The illustrations are full pages with happy and bright colors matching the happiness of each child and father relationship.
Rating: 3.5/5 ššš1/2
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