Set expectations correctly: this is a board book for children aged roughly 0 to 4. It is not a book for you. The previous version of this review described it as a resource that “reinforces the responsibility of fathers to lead, protect, and disciple their families,” which is a lot of freight to hang on twenty pages of rhyme about a lion cub.
What it is: a short, sturdy, read-aloud board book in which a lion cub thanks God for his dad. Big hugs, piggyback rides, being taken care of. Thomas Nelson published it in 2011.
Amy Parker wrote it. Frank Endersby illustrated it, a credit the old review left out entirely, which matters more than usual in a board book where the pictures are most of what a two-year-old is actually receiving. Parker’s children’s books have sold over a million copies and include two Christian Retailing’s Best award winners.
What it does
It does one thing and does it well. It gives a small child language for being grateful for his father, and it puts God at the source of that. For a kid who cannot yet form the thought on his own, hearing it in rhyme at bedtime a hundred times is how it becomes his own.
The rhyme is simple and it scans, which sounds trivial and is not. A board book you have to read four hundred times should not fight you.
Honest notes
There are no reflection prompts, discussion questions, or study material, and there should not be. It is a board book. The old review at least got that part right.
It also included a story about a review team member having a bedtime conversation about gratitude prompted by this book. There was no team and that did not happen. Removed.
Worth knowing: there is a companion, Thank You, God, for Mommy, also by Parker and Endersby. If you buy one and have more than one child, you will probably end up buying both.
One thing to sit with. A book that tells your child his dad gives hugs, plays with him, and takes care of him is describing a father. Reading it out loud is a small, weekly check on whether the description still fits. That is not the book’s stated purpose, but it is the honest use of it for a dad who is drifting.
Who should buy it
Fathers of toddlers. Baby showers and first-Father’s-Day gifts. Grandparents.
Skip it if your children are past about four, or if you were looking for a book about fatherhood for yourself. Our Family section has plenty of those.
Thank You, God, For Daddy on Amazon