Baby librarian Tilly and her mum Jen review the sweet picture book Side by Side by Chris Raschka.
Tilly reviews Side by Side
I love my da and this book is all about children and their da’s, so I like it. There aren’t many words so it’s not a very good listening book or story book. But it has good pictures of da’s doing fun things with their babies. Some of the things they do look pretty fun, like the da being a boat and the da being a mountain. And they play games. And read. My da reads to me sometimes. Not as much as Mummy does and Mummy says he makes things up. I like him anyway.
Jen reviews Side by Side
This is a really lovely picture book that celebrates dads and their relationships with their children. The story is all in the gorgeous pictures as you see the dad and child side by side, doing various things together, playing different roles at different times. I’ve loved seeing my husband become a dad, and especially as that role changes as Tilly gets old — he has become more than just the bum-wiper and vomit-cleaner-upperer, and the father-child relationship has been a joy to watch unfold. This book beautifully captures that relationship without being sentimentally sweet about it, which I think is important in a book.