Daddy Speaks Love

"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 . . . 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, adding a hopeful note for a better future. Lewis' realistic paintings feature all kinds of dads, with the vast majority being men of color. . . . Each scene's evocative portraits meaningfully capture the expressions of children and dads, as well as the environment, in stunning detail." —Booklist

"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. . . . 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." —Publishers Weekly