A new picture book by a two-dad couple centers a child with two dads as she talks about her family and the many other types of families in the world around her.
Daddy & Dada, by Ryan Brockington and Isaac Webster, with illustrations by Lauren May (Little, Brown Young Readers), opens with a young girl named Rumi introducing us to her daddy, dada, baby brother, and dog, and the fun things they like to do together. She goes on to introduce us to her friends, some of whom have a mom and a dad or a single parent. Her dads told her that “families come in all shapes and sizes,” and she points out more: with two dads (in addition to her own), two moms, a caretaking grandmother, and various numbers of children. The families dance, sing, and play sports together.
This cheery book is particularly notable for showing multiple families with two dads or two moms and for recognizing the concept of chosen family. One of Rumi’s friends calls her his sister, “And my dads say that’s cool because sometimes friends are just like family!” she tells us.
The images on a couple of pages could have used a little more thought, however. On one, the girl introduces us to her two sets of grandparents, and we see two snapshots of the grandparent couples and two snapshots of other family members. The labels “This is Nan and Pops” and “This is Grammy and PaPa” are ambiguously positioned between the two pairs of photos, however. The grandparents (especially the grandmothers) also look far too young to be grandparents—not that there aren’t young grandparents, but between that and the ambiguous position of the labels, the whole page is somewhat confusing.
On another page of families that Rumi encounters, she notes one family as an example of “families who sing.” The wife of that family wears a hijab. She and her husband are outside in a park, singing as their child plays guitar. Given that the role and permissibility of music and musical instruments for Muslims is a debated topic, it feels like it might have been better to show the family engaged in some other activity. Yes, many Muslims do listen to, play, and create music—but since others feel some or all of those activities are forbidden (or permitted only in certain ways), why not just stay away from that area and show the family doing something else? If the book or page was specifically about diversity among Muslims, however, that would be different, and showing a variety of practices would be laudable.
Overall, though, May’s illustrations are bold and bright; she gets bonus points for drawing a scene with one of the dads in banana-patterned pink pajamas and fluffy slippers. (Because why not?) The girl and her family are all White, but other families and friends are of various skin tones. One boy uses crutches and another a wheelchair. Add this to the growing list of LGBTQ-inclusive picture books celebrating family diversity. Daddy & Dada officially launches May 18, but is available for preorder now.