Side by Side: A Celebration of Dads

PreS-Gr 1--Spare text blends with trios of jaunty watercolor tableaux showing various dads interacting with their children. They engaging in imaginary play and practical partnerships, such as queen and jester, horse and rider, engine and railcar, crane and cargo, all conducted "side by side." One special spread shows "Learner" dad in a beret, all tangled as he attempts to mimic his "Teacher" daughter, who instructs him on jumping rope. Raschka amazes by conveying profound emotion in a simple, unpretentious way. VERDICT The two-time Caldecott medalist again delivers "awws" with this festival of fathers. Perfect for one-on-one sharing, side by side.--Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

In an album filled with carnival colors, Caldecott Medalist Raschka paints portraits of fathers playing with their children. A girl with long dark braids rides on her dad's back, beaming with happiness: "Horse/ and rider." A page turn, and she's wearing a crown while her father cuts a caper and waves his hat: "Queen/ and jester." A third spread shows the two running off, kites in hand, "side by side." Five more father-and-child pairs in a variety of shapes, ethnicities, and sizes play and take pleasure in each other's company. Each pair receives several dedicated portraits that end with the chorus "side by side." The art offers pleasing tensions: small and large, strong and fragile, leading and following, sleeping and waking. The figures are friendly and resolutely unglamorous, wearing an array of hats and clunky, oversize shoes, and their placement in each spread has a rhythmic grace. Stiff, creamy pages and the long, thin trim size give the book a distinctive look. Raschka understands the crucial role that fathers and father figures play in children's lives, and he conveys it with childlike exuberance. Ages 3-5. (Mar.)

"A perfect read-aloud... The energetic presentations offer up ebullient joy... Show the warm love... Rain or shine, indoors or out, the pictures of the pairs circle and support this close bond with splashing colors in every shade of happy."—Booklist Online

"Spare text blends with trios of jaunty watercolor tableaux showing various dads interacting with their children. They engaging in imaginary play and practical partnerships, such as queen and jester, horse and rider, engine and railcar, crane and cargo, all conducted "side by side". One special spread shows "Learner" dad in a beret, all tangled as he attempts to mimic his "Teacher" daughter, who instructs him on jumping rope. Raschka amazes by conveying profound emotion in a simple, unpretentious way. VERDICT: The two-time Caldecott medalist again delivers "awws" with this festival of fathers. Perfect for one-on-one sharing, side by side."—School Library Journal, Starred review

"A heartfelt and playful ode to the father-child relationship."—Absolutely Mama

"Raschka amazes by conveying profound emotion in a simple, unpretentious way."—School Library Journal

"Readers will have no doubt as to the emotions of the characters, and they are sure to find both mirrors of their own play as well as ideas for new ways to interact with their grown-ups. Parents and children will seek out some side-by-side time after sharing this."—Kirkus Reviews

"Rhythmic and soothing... Joyous, imaginative play and affectionate closeness [is] depicted in Raschka's relaxed, gestural watercolors."—Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

"Having been a father, and now a put-'em-on-my-back-and-charge-up-and-down-the-stairs grandpa, I am a sucker for this touching book. It makes me smile, smile, and smile."—Richie Partington

"A very sweet and lovely picture book that celebrates the relationship between fathers and children... We see the different roles that dad and child play as they go through childhood, such as horse and rider, mountain and climber, boat and captain - and doing all of these things side by side. There is a mix of ethnicities in the different dad/child pairs throughout the book, and the diversity feels natural and real."—BookRiot

"A perfect gift for Father's Day, or any occasion that celebrates dads. This could also be a good prompt for writing and drawing about one's own father."—A Kids Book a Day

"If you want a great new Father's Day picture book, Side by Side: A Celebration of Dads by Chris Raschka is a great place to start... A great book for early readers, or even for dads of older kids who appreciates sweet simplicity."—Cool Mom Picks

"A love letter to the playfulness and love between a father and child."—Mrs. Knotts Book Nook blog

"If you need a picture book to gift to a dad for Father's Day, look no further!""—Mia Wenjen, Pragmatic Mom

"Raschka's familiar watercolors are the showstoppers here... The message is clear: it's not only in these paired metaphors that father and child enjoy each other's company; it's all the time. Today and tomorrow. Side by side."—Horn Book STARRED Review ★

"For readers who prefer to see fathers depicted as capable and authoritative, as well as tender and playful... Combine[s] captivating illustration with a respect for manliness. Chris Raschka pairs brief phrases with exuberant watercolor portraits of fathers and their children in Side by Side."—The Wall Street Journal