PreS-Linocut illustrations in soft, appealing colors depict fathers returning home to their children at day's end. Animals, including a rabbit, ladybug, dog, and bird, are reunited with their offspring in their homes in a hollow tree, under a log, in a birdhouse. One child is also reunited with his sailor father returning from the sea. Mothers are never shown or mentioned. Though the bug flies, the rabbit hops, and the fish swims, there's no movement in the static pictures. Each shows the dad on one page, with one or two sentences of minimal text, facing his youngster on the other. There's not much child appeal here, but the book may reassure some children that their fathers will return home.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As the sun sets, all types of fathers return to their little ones: a rabbit to his bunnies, a dog to his pups, a pig to his piglets, and a sailor to his little boy. The text's constructions aren't always parallel, so at times the cadence is irregular. Retro-style linocuts in eye-catching colors evoke the bond between father and child. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Brown's simple text and Savage's superb linocuts combine to reassure youngest readers of their fathers' love. Each page focuses on a different creature-"The fish father swims home to his little fish that live in the gurgling brook." The illustrations convey emotion through deft line work and subtle changes in color and texture. Savage's joyful cover is duplicated on the satisfying last page when a boy's father "comes home from the sea. Home to his little boy." Ages 2-5. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

As the sun sets, a ship moves across the water. Meanwhile, the fathers are coming home. The fish father swims back to his little fish; the bug father flies back to his little bugs. Words and pictures show the rabbit, daddy longlegs, dog, bird, snail, and pig returning as well. Lion lives alone, so he comes home to himself. When the ship docks, a sailor father returns to his little boy. In an age when picture books for young children too often drip with I-love-you treacle, Brown's text treats a child's love with the dignity it deserves. The story establishes a comfortable pattern, then breaks it just a bit before bringing the simple tale to a happy conclusion. With bold lines and mainly flat colors, the striking illustrations, rendered as linocuts in the publishers' words, use line, form, color, and texture effectively to create a series of compelling images with a retro look. A fine choice for reading aloud.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist

The author of Goodnight Moon has, justifiably, been apotheosized into the pantheon of children's literature's greats. But the seemingly inexhaustible writer left behind a huge quantity of unpublished materialand the sad truth is that not everything she wrote meets her high standards, and this is one example. Spread by spread, animal fathers make their way home to their little ones, concluding with a sailor coming home to his little boy. With the exception of the lion father, "who lives alone, so he comes home to himself," there is little of Brown's signature understated wit or musicality. Savage's illustrationsglowing, blocky linocuts, which evoke in line, shape and color the classic work of Esphyr Slobodkinado their best, but they cannot lift this barely middling text to greatness. (Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.