My Dad

Product Description
From the 2000 Hans Christian Andersen Medalist
In an endearing homage to dads everywhere, a boy describes — and exaggerates — the many accomplishments and feats of his father. Among the traits praised are his enormous talent for singing, his near-professional wrestling skills, his extreme bravery in the face of danger (he’s not even afraid of the Big Bad Wolf!), and his ability to — quite literally, in Anthony Browne’s world — eat like a horse. All of the pictures feature the lovable pater in his signature plaid bathrobe, adding a further comfy layer to a book whose ultimate message is ‘I love my dad. And you know what? HE LOVES ME! (And he always will.)’.

Book Magazine
An ordinary-looking man in blue-striped pajamas and a plaid bathrobe is introduced on the first page of this entertaining book, accompanied by the line, ‘He’s all right, my dad.’ But Dad turns out to be far more than all right. He scares away a wolf, jumps over the moon and walks along the clothesline as if it were a tightrope. His only failing is housework, an unfortunate cliché. Each of the large, surreal illustrations includes the humorous, subtle touches that make Browne’s books so much fun. A tribute to an admired father by one of Britain’s most innovative children’s book creators.
-Kathleen Odean

(Excerpted Review)

Publishers Weekly
My Dad by Anthony Browne now appears in a paper-over-board miniature edition. Of the original, PW said, ‘With well-measured doses of hyperbole, sentiment and humor, Browne delivers an endearing paean to patriarchs.’ Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly
With well-measured doses of hyperbole, sentiment and humor, Browne (Voices in the Park) delivers an endearing paean to patriarchs. ‘He’s all right, my dad,’ begins the young narrator, pictured only in the final painting, receiving a giant hug from the object of his affection. Each page celebrates a specific quality or accomplishment of Dad, illustrated with characteristically witty panache. Accompanying the proclamation that ‘My dad isn’t afraid of ANYTHING, even the Big Bad Wolf,’ is a picture of the fellow showing an overall-clad wolf the door, as Red Riding Hood and three pigs peer out from behind a tree in the background; in another, the boy thinks his dad ranks as one of the three tenors (‘a brilliant singer,’ Dad is flanked by Pavarotti and Domingo). Some of Browne’s playful imagery is obvious: the plaid pattern of Dad’s bathrobe appears on a piece of toast popping out of the toaster, and he assumes the likeness of a variety of animals as the child announces that ‘My dad can eat like a horse,’ ‘swim like a fish,’ etc. Yet sometimes the artist creates some slyer graphic pranks. A childlike drawing of a sun that hangs on the wall on the opening page, for example, later appears in a smaller dimension as a button on Dad’s pajamas. And as the father bounces a soccer ball on his knee, trees in the distance are shaped like balls used in various sports. All ages. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.