My 3-year-old son, Allen, loves to have books read to him. When Daddy Came to School was a book that Allen really enjoyed. The book is written and illustrated by Julie Brillhart.
The Story:
The book is about a little boy who has a birthday and just turned three years old. He got a special treat when his Daddy came to spend the day with him at school. The book goes through a typical school day. The Daddy participates in all of the school activities. The children paint, explore, take a nap and much more. They have fun inside and even have some adventures outside.
I love how the book rhythms. It makes it fun to read and fun for the child to listen to. Here is an example of the writing in the book:
”Naptime came along-
We rested on the floor.
It was quiet for awhile
Till Dad began to snore!”
The little boy and Daddy had a great day together. The little boy asks the Daddy if he will come again next year when he turns four?
The Illustrations:
There were done in pen and watercolor. There is an unbelievable amount of detail in the book. Each page is cram packed with different things. Some of the drawings are a whole page picture, while others depict several scenes on one page. Each activity that the children and the Daddy do together is illustrated in drawing.
There were a variety of different children drawn. I thought that was great for showing children that there are lots of different types of people in the world. Some of the children had long hair, some short, some had glasses, some with freckles, some were black and some were white. It really showed that there are differences in people.
One of the illustrations was of Daddy painting at the easel. It showed him painting and some of the children were watching him. Another child was looking at the painting he had done. While some more kids were over against the wall measuring themselves against the wall-measuring strip. In the background the class rabbit, Flopsy, was sitting in his cage. The teacher is standing holding a teddy bear while she watches the children.
When I was done reading the book to Allen he had a blast going back through the book and looking over the pictures. There were so many things in the pictures that Allen thought this would make a fun game. He wanted me to name an item and him find it. So I started with “glasses on a child” and he found it right away. He thought this was so much fun. He enjoyed asking me what some of the things were that he didn’t recognize, like the smock the people painting were wearing.
My Final Thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable book. I think Allen enjoyed it so much because he could relate to the things in the book. He goes to a church program two days a week and that is his “school”. Many of the things the children did in the book he does at his own school. He is a big Daddy’s boy so he thought it was really neat that the little boy got to have his Daddy spend the day with him for his birthday.
He listened intently to every word I read. This book entertained him for over 30 minutes. He would have been happy to play our little “let’s find” game for much longer than Mommy wanted to play. He also was having fun learning what some new things are. He would ask me some things and I would tell him. He would then repeat the item trying to say the word.
Allen loves to have books read to him that rhyme. It really keeps his attention. I think this book would be intended for a child 3-5. The setting is a pre-school and the children appear to be around 3-4 years old. It does state that the little boy just turned 3.
Most any kid would enjoy this book, especially ones that go to daycare. Also children that are a big daddy’s boy or girl would like seeing the Daddy and the little boy interact in his school. It was a really fun book to read to Allen.
Recommended:
