Your Daddy Was Just Like You

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Overview

It's pretty hard to believe, but according to this little boy's grandma, his daddy was just like him once. Most of the time he was a sweet boy, but sometimes he raised a ruckus. He liked playing race car and superhero, and got mad when he lost a game, and never wanted to take a bath. And once upon a time, he-Daddy!?was even sent to time-out.

Kids love to hear stories about their parents as children and this funny and loving ode to little boys and the dads they grow up to become...

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Overview

It's pretty hard to believe, but according to this little boy's grandma, his daddy was just like him once. Most of the time he was a sweet boy, but sometimes he raised a ruckus. He liked playing race car and superhero, and got mad when he lost a game, and never wanted to take a bath. And once upon a time, he-Daddy!?was even sent to time-out.

Kids love to hear stories about their parents as children and this funny and loving ode to little boys and the dads they grow up to become is guaranteed to delight three generations at once.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
A boy gets a lesson in family history from his grandmother, who helps connect past and present. “When he started school, your daddy said: 'It's hard' and 'Do I have to?' Just like you.” The “like father, like son” idea also extends to the baseball diamond, the time-out chair, and bedtime (“Your daddy wasn't always brave, especially at night”). Walker's smudgy acrylics mirror the soft tone of Bennett's prose, as the boy's father experiences familiar childhood emotions (oddly, the boy himself only appears in the opening and closing scenes). Ages 3-5. (Mar.)
Publishers Weekly
This follow-up to Your Daddy Was Just Like You (2010) follows the format of its predecessor, as a grandmother tells her granddaughter all about raising the girl's mother. Bennett smartly covers the good along with the bad—as a child, the girl's mother was adventurous, imaginative, and active, but "some days she turned into the terror!... On those days she was sent to time-out. Just like you." Walker's acrylic paintings capture the story's emotional highs and lows, as well as its warm humor; the overall tone, though, is one of assured love throughout the generations. Ages 3–5. (Mar.)
Booklist
The illustrations for the book are loving tributes to boyhood, even in its messiest, mud-jumping state.
Children's Literature - Michele C. Hughes
Children love to hear stories about themselves as babies, and they also enjoy following in their parents' footsteps. The little boy in this book is no exception, as he revels in hearing tales of his father's childhood and the ways he was "just like you." This refrain by his paternal grandmother lends itself to the child's participation when the book is read aloud. Grandma describes various activities that speak to the father's mastery of tasks, such as crawling, walking, talking, going to school, learning math, playing ball and overcoming his fear of the dark. These comparisons serve to empower the boy in the story as he hears about his father's growth, which represents his own bright future. Some of the father's antics, such as sitting in time out or losing a ballgame, show the boy that his father had some tough times of growth, exactly like he does. There are also comical parts, such as when the father is singing in the bathtub or raising "a ruckus." Perhaps as homage to Maurice Sendak's naughty little Max in Where the Wild Things Are, the father, too, is punished for his wild misdeeds, pictured with a Max-like hat made from a cooking pan. This sweet book champions enduring love from generation to generation. Layered acrylic paint illustrations with soft, visible brush strokes make this book a soothing and suitable story for bedtime. It is surprising how much emotion is masterfully conveyed in the characters' faces, despite their dots for eyes and simple features. Reviewer: Michele C. Hughes
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2—In this heartwarming picture book, a grandmother shares stories with her grandson about his dad, who listens and watches with a smile. Once she opens the photo album, readers are engaged in a tender trip down memory lane. Grandma points out the similarities in appearance and behavior between father and son. Both are "puny and red-faced" when they are born. They begin school with trepidation, but with practice learning becomes easier. Some days, Dad could be "sweet," "wild," bossy, or raise a "ruckus," just like his son. Walker's use of layers of acrylic paints creates soft, gentle illustrations. Small details, such as black corners on the photos, provide authenticity to the time span. Characters' facial expressions and body language successfully capture emotions, actions, and reactions. Children will laugh at the spreads of Dad as a baby joyously singing in a bubble bath; pretending to be a race car, a gorilla, a cowboy, or a masked bandit; moping through a time-out; and coping with the disappointment of losing a baseball game. The humorous text is in perfect sync with the simple illustrations. This unique book is an excellent choice, particularly for Father's Day.—Anne Beier, Hendrick Hudson Free Library, Montrose, NY
School Library Journal
PreS—A grandmother looks at an old photo album with her granddaughter, telling her stories about her mother when she was little. Each page shows something about her childhood, from nicknames to temper tantrums, daisy chains, and scraped knees. The grandmother explains how hard her daughter worked when she was trying to learn to read and how stubborn she was about picking out her own clothes. The youngster sees pictures of her mom dressed as a frog, a magic fairy, and a beautiful princess. The illustrations are soft and gentle, complementing each milestone mentioned in the story. Perfect for intergenerational lap sharing.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH
Kirkus Reviews
A grandmother regales her grandson with an account of his father's infant- and childhood, including achievements and frailties and always touching base with the refrain, "Just like you." The strength of Bennett's text is in its honest and loving confrontation of not-so-adorable aspects of childhood: "Most days your daddy was my sweet boy. But some days he turned into a wild thing. He raised a ruckus. He crashed. He teased or bossed or bashed." That aside, there's little to surprise readers. Where this book truly misses its potential is in Walker's soft-focus acrylics, which simply depict what the grandmother describes of her son's childhood and fail to mirror the text's "Just like you," never making the visual connection between the child-father and his son. (Picture book. 3-5)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780399252587
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 3/18/2010
  • Pages: 32
  • Sales rank: 472,038
  • Age range: 3 - 5 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.30 (w) x 9.70 (h) x 0.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Kelly Bennett lives in Houston, Texas, and Jakarta, Indonesia.

David Walker lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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