Hero Dad

by Melinda Hardin, Bryan Langdo (Illustrator)

Overview

Some superheroes wear rocket-propelled boots, drive super-powered cars, and have X-ray vision.

But other superheroes wear army boots, drive tanks, and go away for long trips to make the world a safer place. It’s a tough job, but superheroes can do it.

With Melinda Hardin’s simple text and with Bryan Langdo’s endearing watercolor-and-pencil illustrations, Hero Dad makes a difficult and tender subject more accessible to children with parents serving far from home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761457138
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	04/24/2012
Pages:	24
Sales rank:	519,938
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	AD550L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Melinda Hardin was inspired to write this book while working in a US Department of Defense Dependent School in Germany and witnessing firsthand the struggles children encounter when a parent is in the military. This is her first children’s book. She currently resides in Massachusetts, with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

A letter from Dad, who is deployed in the Middle East, prompts the young narrator to muse on what his father is going through and how he represents a better breed of superhero. "He doesn't carry a laser gun--he carries a rifle," declares the boy, as readers see soldiers on patrol in the desert. Holding a photograph of his father and his comrades standing proudly by their tank, the boy explains, "He doesn't have a sidekick--he has a platoon." Hardin, a debut author, lucked out with Langdo (Diamond Jim Dandy and the Sheriff): her minimal, confident text is in perfect sync with the khaki and fatigue-hued combat scenes. The bold, austere visual aesthetic conveys a sense of resolve reminiscent of classic war posters and inspires some particularly striking spreads: in one, a march is cropped down to show only boots on the ground. The superheroes of graphic novels and TV will always have a hold on kids' imaginations, but Hardin and Langdo make the persuasive case that in real life, heroism is defined by unwavering bravery, duty, and vigilance. Ages 3–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 2—This sunny picture book opens with the stirring words, "My dad is a superhero." However, readers soon discover that he is not a caped crusader: he is a United States soldier in fatigues. As the proud boy explains, Dad has real-life corollaries to the traditional superhero accessories, for example, a rifle instead of a laser gun. The illustrations often flesh out the child's vision. The words on one spread, "He can't fly—well, sometimes he can," are accompanied by a picture of Dad and his buddies parachuting from a plane. The bright, cartoon artwork makes the book child-friendly and evokes superhero comic books. Meanwhile, the luminous watercolors make the difficult subject matter approachable for young children faced with separation from military parents. Hardin's first-person narrative helps them voice their own feelings, and reassuringly, this dad comes home. For most collections, especially those serving military communities.—Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY

School Library Journal

What makes a superhero? Dad doesn't wear rocket-powered boots; he wears army boots. He doesn't have x-ray vision; he has night vision. He doesn't wear a cloak of invisibility; he wears camouflage. Hardin leads the reader through eight attributes of this hero Dad,whom readers see as a soldier in the desert, jumping from a plane, riding in a tank, hanging with his buddies: "He doesn't have a sidekick, he has a platoon." Langdo's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations have an appealing simplicity and texture, almost as if made by the boy narrator himself. The penultimate picture shows Dad walking toward his home, a yellow-beribboned tree prominentlyfeatured, and his buoyant family. The final page echoes the first, just dad and his young son, with this conclusion in bright red: "My dad is a hero, my superhero." The boy and his family have coffee-with-cream–colored skin and dark hair, though no specific ethnicity is indicated. An important message, delivered with effective straightforwardness and an abundance of heart. Next, can we please have a Hero Mom to make a matched set? (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews