This is My Dad

This is My Dad is an important book for families that may not find themselves represented in picture books often. It is also a useful resource for any family wishing to explore different family structures. The topic is sensitively negotiated by the picture book creators who craft a space in which many different families could fit and feel comfortable while telling a story that is both realistic and positive. * Picture Book Parents *
A unique and touching way to deal with having a single parent during Show and Tell. Pastel illustrations echo the mood. * Pinerolo (The Children’s Book Cottage Newsletter) *
I love that this story covers such a sensitive topic: What do children who are being raised in a single-caregiver family do with assignments that ask them to talk about the other carer? * corneroncharacter.blogspot.com *
... a great heads-up for teachers but also a book which appears to be for littlies but which can enable older students to examine their own perspectives at arm’s length, perhaps even reflect on their own situations and how that has shaped them. * The Bottom Shelf *
The story explores this family dynamic experienced by millions of children, in a positive and creative way. It tells the story of Leo, whose normal love of show and tell turns to dread when he is asked to talk about his father, who he has never known. ‘How can I celebrate someone I’ve never met?’ he worries. * Buzz Words *
Busts through typical family stereotypes and conventions in all of the best ways. * Kids’ Book Review *
With many children only living with a single parent, this book is a great reminder to all that families come in all shapes and sizes. * Swings and Roundabouts, a magazine *
Leo has never known his father, so This is my Dad day at school has his stomach tied in knots. While working out what to do about it, he discovers he already has a parent with all the heroic qualities he imagines his absent father to hold. This gorgeous picture book by Dimity Powell and Nicky Johnston celebrates single-parent families. I wish I’d had this book when I was widowed at 42 with a 5-year-old. Whether they're subjected to card-making for Father’s or Mother’s day, or just the endless references to ‘mum and dad’ in the classroom, children from sole-parent families face a barrage of reminders at school that they are ‘different’. This book serves as a prompt for important discussions about the varied shapes of modern families. It’s a reminder that parents raising children alone due to death, divorce or choice can be superheroes. It encourages children to focus less on what they lack and more on what they have. And it gives a certain type of family long-overdue representation.  * Emma Grey *
This is a great story. (EK Books) puts out so many thoughtful books like this. And I honestly think it fills a very important gap among all the wonderful books celebrating moms and dads that we pull out around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. I truly think you can put this one on your shelf for either holiday. * Dad Suggests *
The book resonated with me. I am an only child, I was brought up with my mother, I guess playing mum and dad … very similar story to Leo. When i was at school people would say ‘where is your Dad?’, and my mum was my dad. I would have loved a book like this when I was going through primary school, I would have said, ‘Hey look Leo is me! -- Ken Williams * Reading with a chance of tacos *