Michelle Blanchard Ardillo

Thank you to NorthSouth Books, specifically Marian Hernandez, and to NetGalley for the ARC of The Best Daddy of All, this delightful picture book for young children. I must say that I read this book with a lump in my throat. Author Peter Horn and illustrator Jessica Meserve brought up so many wonderful memories of time with my own father, the best daddy of all for me.

This book tells in sweet prose and beautifully illustrated paintings the story of young Sebastian and his daddy tortoise. The illustrations take the reader through the day and through different seasons as daddy tortoise explains what the dads of different species do to take care of their young children. The daddy tortoise quizzes Sebastian about the habits of the dads of nocturnal animals with the illustrations in the bright sunshine, switching then to the dads of diurnal animals where the scenes take on night life in the wild. The shading in these illustrations is so spectacular and evocative, adding to my nostalgic feelings while reading this short book.

While daddy tortoise keeps his son warm in the cool breeze and rustling leaves, daddy spider teaches his son how to spin webs in the dewy morn. Daddy bat teaches his son how to hang upside down to sleep and daddy firefly teaches his son how to swirl about in the moonlight like flashes of lightning.

I couldn’t help but recall my own dad, gone now for nearly ten years, teaching me to dive off the low board one summer, treading water for long periods of time in the deep well, coaxing me (at first gently), “Jump, Michelle, jump, I’ve got you,” while I stood stock still and shivering at the edge of the board too scared to jump. One summer when I worked in a small gift shop, he taught me to count back change, long before digital cash registers did the math for you. And, as I left for my first job after college graduation, the lesson was far more serious: “Always tell the truth. Admit when you’ve made a mistake and ask for help to fix it. Do it right away, before anyone else knows.” This lesson served me well years later when my “mistake” could have cost my company a huge business deal, remedied with the help of my boss because I went to her right away, with my heart pounding in my chest, feeling like I was going to faint, to admit my error. After she helped me fix it, she told me NO ONE ever admits a mistake of that size, no one ever just walks up and says, “It was me. I did it.” She asked me, “Where did you learn to do that?” My dad, I told her.

Thank you, Peter Horn and Jessica Meserve, for giving me a moment where I could reminisce about my dad and all he taught me. Congratulations on such a beautiful book!