My Father is Taller than a Tree, by Joseph Bruchac and Wendy Anderson Halperin

Bruchac, Joseph. My Father is Taller than a Tree. Illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2010. 28 pages. $16.99, ISBN 978-0-8037-3173-8

AGE LEVEL
3 and 4 year-olds

GENRE
Picture book

REVIEW

Whether standing at the edge of the clouds overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge or simply horsing around in the family room, these fathers and sons revel in the simple joy of togetherness. In two short sentences apiece, Bruchac captures special moments between thirteen father-son pairs, focusing on these dads’ attentiveness to their boys: “Dad knows the times I like to hide / and when to call me back inside.” In her illustrations, Halperin combines crayon and colored pencil to beautifully sketch and shade each pair’s day. Her inclusion of one large drawing and four smaller ones of each pair is a unique format which answers the question of 'what happened next' in a satisfying way. Other stand-out aspects of this book are its inclusion of father-son pairs of various ethnicities and races, fathers of various ages, and a visually challenged dad.  Due to the amount of detail in the smaller illustrations on each two-page spread, this is a book to take your time with as you share it, especially with 0-2 year olds.

LIBRARY PROGRAMMING IDEAS
For younger children, pair this book with the following lap-bounce rhyme, advising caregivers to substitute child’s name for ‘Uncle John’, and insert alternatives for "father" and "mother" as needed, depending on the child's home situation.

          FATHER AND MOTHER AND UNCLE JOHN:

         
          Father and Mother and Uncle John went to market one by one. (Hold child 
          on lap, facing away.  Bounce child gently up and down on your knees.)

          Father fell off. (Drop legs quickly or dip child to one side.)

          Mother fell off. (Drop legs quickly or dip child to other side.)

          But Uncle John went on and on and on... (Bounce faster and faster.)