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Summary
Summary
A moving tribute to the joy and grounding that fathers bring to their children's lives.
What does a daddy do? From day one, this daddy speaks love to his little one. And along with that love, his words and actions speak many other things, too- like truth, joy, comfort, and pride. Like many dads, he answers a million questions and tries to make sure that days are full of fun adventures, giggles, and hugs. Dads are good at scaring away imaginary monsters, and honest about how to confront the real ones too. They set an example for the future, speaking out for equality and justice, while sharing lessons from the past. But most of all, daddies encourage their young ones to fight for a better world, with the comfort of knowing their dads are right beside them. Daddy Speaks Love speaks to that everlasting bond between children and their fathers and is a perfect gift for special occasions including Father's Day, Valentine's Day, birthdays, baby showers, and more!
Author Notes
Leah Henderson (leahhendersonbooks.com) also wrote the picture books Mamie on the Mound and Together We March , as well as the middle grade novels The Magic in Changing Your Stars and One Shadow on the Wall . She mentors at-risk teens in self-empowerment, business, and writing, and is on the Highlights Foundation faculty and a committee for We Need Diverse Books. She is on the faculty of the Spalding University MFA program, and lives in Washington, D.C.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3--"Daddy speaks LOVE/ when he answers endless questions/ and makes a thousand plans./ New adventures await us morning till night./ Days full of tree climbs,/ the longest of hikes." A new baby is lifted up by a loving Black father and life together begins with frailty and smallness, protected and cherished by families. This title delves deeply into the part fathers play in shaping the actions and minds of their children, and bettering the world their children will inherit. Featuring fathers and children of various races and ethnicities, the pages focus on small and big moments of the father-child relationship. Henderson pays tribute to the virtues of love, truth, joy, learning, dreaming, unity, trust, and pride among others, and shows how a father's actions can resonate far beyond those early years. Although all the fathers and children shown skew heteronormative, Lewis's watercolor artwork is nothing short of masterful and illuminates the text, capturing exquisite levels of detail throughout. The first and last page spreads are particularly captivating and feature a father with his child on a color field background, visually centering the intensity of the love parents feel for their children. An almost dream-like quality suits the poetic narrative perfectly. VERDICT This impressive title ponders and celebrates the many facets and complexities of fatherhood. A recommended purchase.--Sarah Simpson, Westerville P. L., OH
Publisher's Weekly Review
Inspired by six-year-old Gianna Floyd's words about her father, George Floyd, in the wake of his murder, this picture book centers the loving relationship between fathers and children. Narrating from an unnamed child's perspective and employing the refrain "Daddy speaks," Henderson completes the phrase with a range of qualities in turn--love, truth, joy, comfort, learning, and more--using poetic prose. "Daddy speaks FUTURE/ and of history's long, long past,// for Black lives to matter,/ for compassion,/ and change that will last," reads a spread featuring a Black child placing a teddy bear beneath a mural of George Floyd. Evocative washes of watercolor by Lewis present realistic portraits of children and parents of varying skin tones participating in indoor and outdoor activities, including hiking in the woods, baking in the kitchen, visiting a museum, and attending a Black Lives Matter rally, effectively depicting a paradigm of fatherhood. Back matter includes an author's note. Ages 4--8. (Jan.)
Booklist Review
This celebration of dads centers on their involvement, open minds, and activism toward a more equitable world. Each spread features a vignette pairing lyrical lines--"When Daddy speaks comfort, I'm so glad he's here"--with an artful watercolor painting depicting one of a rich variety of activities dads engage in, such as welcoming a newborn, hiking, nail painting for boys, encouraging resilience, telling stories, identifying role models, and learning about history--in particular the history of systemic racism and activism, which adds a hopeful note for a better future. Lewis' realistic paintings feature all kinds of dads, with the vast majority being men of color. The topics of Henderson's verses range from giving moral support when a baking project doesn't work out to opening a child's mind to social injustices that focus on Black Lives Matter. Each scene's evocative portraits meaningfully capture the expressions of children and dads, as well as the environment, in stunning detail. Match with Innosanto Nagara's board book A Is for Activist (2013), Bryan Collier's We Shall Overcome (2021), and Chris Singleton's Your Life Matters (2021).
