Daddies Are for Catching Fireflies

by Harriet Ziefert, Cynthia Jabar (Illustrator)

Daddies do so many terrific things. A daddy always gives you the best seat at the parade, he reads you bedtime stories, and he tries his best to fix your toys when they break (even if he doesn't always succeed). Filled with soft, beautiful watercolor artwork and lilting text, this lift-the-flap book about all the great things fathers do is perfect for young children.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, School, Fiction

16 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[raccoon reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

So we're doing a lightning bug theme. Bonus points that this one is about daddies, BUT take away points because the title "Daddies are for catching fireflies" doesn't extend that theme into the book. No fireflies are caught anywhere except on the cover. Really? We thought the book would be about fireflies and daddies. Everytime we picked this book up to read my three year old would grow frustrated and perplexed "But there are NO fireflies actually IN the book mommy!!" I get it kid. It's really deceptive. Maybe the title could have just been "daddies do stuff" with the subtitle "but they won't actually catch fireflies in this book kiddo so look elsewhere."

[ameya · Rating 5 out of 5]

(:

[Andrés · Rating 2 out of 5]

A perfectly fine read for a 1-2 year old featuring some things that your particular daddy might do: wear a belt, shave, tickle feet, try to fix things, teach you to swim, pony rides, protect from dogs, answer Qs, keep you warm, go to work, take you to a parade, read a book at bedtime, catch fireflies (only on the cover). There are diverse dads and kids throughout the book, and kids will enjoy lifting flaps, which have next-step illustrations and text, too.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fireflies are in the title only and nowhere in the book.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kait read this to Wyatt.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for complementing some of the things we can take for granted about daddies. It has fun flaps to lift and the words correspond directly with the pictures so it's easy for children to read accurately on their own. My only critique is that, while the illustrator made a point to draw daddies of many ethnicities, the text draws mainly on stereotypes of male roles in the family. There are no images of Daddy preparing dinner, for example. For our family, the examples are entirely accurate and the children repeatedly exclaimed "just like when our daddy did that." It just made me think how awkward it could be if the child was saying they wish their dad did those things. But here, it's been a positive book not only to help the girls appreciate their dad, but to give Dad some validation that knowing " you can climb on Daddy" is important to the children.

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this book--I was expecting... oh, I don't know... a book that might talk about catching fireflies? Instead it's just a random list of things that daddies might do (although I found the whole "Daddies go to work" thing a bit obnoxious, since I know plenty of families where the mommy is the bread winner and the daddy is the caregiver).

The illustrations are predictably cutesy, as you might expect from a book all about complimenting daddies or mommies would be.

My daughter did enjoy it, though. She likes lift-the-flap books. And the text was simple enough that she was able to memorize it after a couple of reads, so she could complete the sentences as I read.

[Christy]

Daddies do so many terrific things. A daddy always gives you the best seat at the parade, he reads you bedtime stories, and he tries his best to fix your toys when they break (even if he doesn't always succeed). Filled with soft, beauti-ful watercolor artwork and lilting text, this lift-the-flap book about all the great things fathers do is perfect for young children.

[Modboy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet book showing many of the stereotypical activities daddies do with their children. The flaps are fun and interestingly the only fireflies caught are on the cover.

[Jeani · Rating 4 out of 5]

.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband lives reading this story to my daughter, although not a favorite. Sweet book that describes what daddies do along with lift the flaps for added activity and surprises.