A rhyming text describes the commonplace things a boy can do with his father: Pop shows me how to ride a bike. / I'm too grown-up now for a trike. (Librarians will especially like the last one: Papa reads to me every night / until he says that's all, sleep tight. ) Although a first-person voice is used throughout, each spread depicts a different boy and dad, including a blind man and diverse ethnic groups. The bottom third of each double-page spread is a four-panel strip detailing the described activity; for example, the strip for Pa waits for me when I go slow / because the streets are deep with snow has the dad pulling the boy on a sled, the boy making snow angels and then tasting the snow, and the two of them sharing hot cocoa. Halperin's soft palette reinforces the caring feeling between the 13 father-son pairs. The final spread is a montage of all the things the boys will do with their own children one day.--Cummins, Julie Copyright 2010 Booklist

In lumbering rhymes ("Pop shows me how to ride a bike. / I'm too grown-up now for a trike"), Bruchac describes the many pleasures that boys and their fathers can share: raking leaves, walking into town, laughing together. Each spread features multi-paneled, soft-hued illustrations that help narrate the stories of thirteen diverse father-and-son pairs. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 1-Short, simple rhymes are highlighted by Halperin's wonderfully expressive, soft yet colorful crayon and pencil drawings. Each of the 13 diverse father/son duos is pictured on a spread in a large illustration accompanied by four small ones, showing the two sharing an activity, such as raking leaves, biking, or spending a day in the park. The pictures could stand alone with their gentle, loving depictions, and they are the focal point of this book. The uneven, singsong sentences are simple enough for early readers: "Dad knows the times I like to hide/and when to call me back inside./Pop doesn't need to buy me stuff./Just being with him is enough." Though the rhymes are unexceptional, the illustrations make this book a charming celebration of fathers, dads, pops, papas, and pas.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Rhyming couplets describe the many different ways fathers and sons enjoy each other and express their love, but unfortunately with this effort the master storyteller demonstrates that verse simply is not his mtier: "Mi Pap likes to hear me sing. / He's very good at listening. // Dad knows the times I like to hide / and when to call me back inside." Taking her cue from the doggerel, Halperin depicts a variety of ethnicities in her father-son pairs and includes a blind dad, a hipster dad and an older dad as well. Her crayon spreads, done in her usual bright palette, display the formal precision readers have come to expect, presenting one large panel that spans the spread atop four smaller ones that run below and expand on each moment. Well-intentioned but nothing more. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This friendly poem celebrates the role fathers play in their sons' lives and the many kinds of families who live in the U.S. Working in crayon, Halperin draws father-son pairs around the country: an Asian father and son in San Francisco, a blind father with his son at a farmer's market, an African-American duo playing hide-and-seek. Smaller panels reveal more details about their lives, while Bruchac's verse runs along the bottom: "He pats my back when I feel sad./ He understands 'cause he's my dad." The softly shaded drawings suggest similarly quiet emotions, and small sons will find comfort on every page. Ages 3-5. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved