In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers

Rating:
Summary: The artwork is beautiful
Review: I bought the book for me. I was in a bookstore just walking around when I ran into this book on one of the display tables and not in the African American section where it would normally be. I glanced through the book and knew that this book was something I wanted in my collection. Only problem I have with this book is I don't know whether to put it with my art books or with my poetry books. Hmmm, maybe I should buy a second copy. Excellent for the kids.

Rating:
Summary: The artwork is beautiful
Review: I bought the book for me. I was in a bookstore just walking around when I ran into this book on one of the display tables and not in the African American section where it would normally be. I glanced through the book and knew that this book was something I wanted in my collection. Only problem I have with this book is I don't know whether to put it with my art books or with my poetry books. Hmmm, maybe I should buy a second copy. Excellent for the kids.

Rating:
Summary: In Daddy's Arms I am Tall
Review: I have several books that I leave sitting out to let people look at and react to if they choose. Lots of people respond to this book--people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, adults as well as children. Beautiful artwork. Evocative poetry. Useful as well as lovely.

Rating:
Summary: Wrapping up in Daddy's Arms
Review: In Daddy's Arms I am Tall is a beautiful tribute to all fathers. Children will enjoy these unique and inspirational poems. The poem offers students an opportunity to look into the African American culture. The poem My Granddaddy is My Daddy Too represents a very true to life situation in a positive light. This book will be enjoyed not only for the poetry, but also for the amazing artwork. The illustrator,Javaka Steptoe uses all sorts of materials including pennies and burlap to create his art. Children and adults will enjoy looking at the vibrant pictures and trying to figure out what media was used in the illustrations. Readers are given background knowledge to get a better understanding of the poems. At the end of the book, the author gives biographical information about each of the poets featured in the book. Steptoe also complements his wonderful artwork with an informative paragraph on the last page of the book. Readers are given specific examples of the media used and the different sizes of the real images. This information is very inspiring and exciting to the reader. Children and adults will enjoy wrapping up in Daddy's arms!

Rating:
Summary: A book for everyone
Review: The poems and illustrations in the book are honest, touching and evocative. Some of the poems remind me of Gary Snyder's Axe Handle. In english literature, the percentage of poems with positive parent/child relationships is few. It's good to see new literature addressing the power and importance of the parent/child bond. Most of the great literary works in the last two centuries paint the parent as the barrier to one's own greatness, instead of the foundation of a child's future success. I enjoyed reading the book and hope more authors write about the special bond between parent and their childern.

Rating:
Summary: I AM TALL
Review: This collection of poems honoring fathers and grandfathers effectively opens with the Ashanti proverb, "When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him." The proverb sets the tone for the rest of the book. The poems offer brilliant, descriptive language that most readers, who share the same wonderful thoughts of their own fathers, can quickly identify. The book includes a variety of poems, each with its own perspective on fathers. "Tickle, Tickle" is a fun poem author Dakari Hru wrote in remembrance of all those amusing moments children share with their fathers as they are tickled. "The things in Black Men's Closets" is a more serious poem describing a father's clothing he selects to wear as he gets ready for a funeral. Steptoe skillfully and attractively illustrated all of the poems. He artistically created his illustrations using a combination of painting and collages made from a variety of materials. Each illustration is bright, colorful, and distinctive.

Rating:
Summary: Wrapping up in Daddy's Arms
Review: This collection of poems honoring fathers and grandfathers effectively opens with the Ashanti proverb, "When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him." The proverb sets the tone for the rest of the book. The poems offer brilliant, descriptive language that most readers, who share the same wonderful thoughts of their own fathers, can quickly identify. The book includes a variety of poems, each with its own perspective on fathers. "Tickle, Tickle" is a fun poem author Dakari Hru wrote in remembrance of all those amusing moments children share with their fathers as they are tickled. "The things in Black Men's Closets" is a more serious poem describing a father's clothing he selects to wear as he gets ready for a funeral. Steptoe skillfully and attractively illustrated all of the poems. He artistically created his illustrations using a combination of painting and collages made from a variety of materials. Each illustration is bright, colorful, and distinctive.

Rating:
Summary: All Students Relate...
Review: This poetry book contains several poems written by a variety of authors all focusing on black fathers and father figures. It contains poems that seem to be told by children about why their fathers are important to them. The poems might contain fond thoughts of something a father may do or feelings of comfort and safety that a child might feel when being near his or her father. There are poems that are told by adults explaining how their fathers helped them to be what they are today. . One of my favorite poems entitled ¡°My Granddaddy is My Daddy Too,¡± is told from the point of view of a child that is proud to say that his granddaddy is the only daddy he knows, and that he has been a great one at that. When I read some of these poems to my second grade class, many of my students really identified with this one because so many of them do not even know their fathers. These poems would definitely appeal to all students due to their variety. Regardless of the race of the children they can all relate to parts of these poems that would in a way help students to understand different races a little better. Students may begin to understand that all children have similar feelings about their fathers, regardless of their race. This may help children to realize that they are not all that different from people of other cultures. My students really enjoyed these poems and I did too!