How Daddies DO It! Daddy Hugs by Nancy Tafuri

"I LOVE DRIPPY HUGS," SAYS LITTLE TURTLE."JUST-DADDY-AND-ME-HUGS."

With the simple theme that "little ones love hugs," Caldecott author-illustrator Nancy Tafuri gives the daddies of the wild their chance to shine. And do they embrace the opportunity!

Tafuri opens with a raccoon dad and his little one snuggling in the hollow of a tree. It's a sweet sight... but....there's more!

"I LOVE DRIPPY HUGS," SAYS LITTLE TURTLE.
JUST-DADDY-AND-ME-HUGS!"

Tafuri's hook for little ones is that each two-page spread of Dad and his little one shows, in the background, a tantalizing glimpse of at least part of the animal to be featured next, giving sharp-eyed observers a chance to figure what follows the page turn.  Adult read-alouders, on auto pilot at bedtime, may be surprised when their youngsters seem to have amazing predictive powers.

"I LOVE  WHISKERY HUGS," SAYS LITTLE FOX."

And while he's getting his version of just-Daddy-and-Me-Hugs, a big quail soars by, obviously on a mission--a hugging mission--as we see in the next double-page spread, in which Little Bobwhite gets his own "feathery hugs," from his dad.  There are also daddy hugs from Mr. Skunk, Fox, Chipmunk, Beaver, Chipmunk, and Owl, and finally a human parent and child enjoying the best of hugs....

"... GOODNIGHT. SWEET DREAMS, MY LITTLE ONE."

With a repeating and repeatable refrain and Tafuri's big, signature pencil and watercolored drawings, good to teach tots animal names and a bit about their habitats,Daddy Hugs (Little, Brown and Company, 2014) is both a bedtime story and a nature lesson in one.  Tafuri also throws in some fun-to-spot bit parts for an orb spider in her web, a dragonfly, a bee, and an ever-present lady bird beetle on every page.

The author also appends a list of featured animals and their official names (downy woodpecker, American gray squirrel) and challenges older readers to spot and point out arachnids, insects, mammals, reptiles, mollusks, worms, and amphibians depicted throughout.

Read this one with Tafuri's lovely companion book, All Kinds of Kisses, for a perfect pair of Tafuri tales.