Daddy is a Monster... Sometimes

As far as childrens books go this is a gem. Most of the books i can remember reading as a child seemed patronizing or too cute. "Sometimes" manages to meet the kid at eye-level. I'd go so far as to compare it to Hansel and Gretel,in that it's a cautionary little tale that works well as a story for the child and as an allegory for the astute parent. What i feel for it goes well beyond nostalgia; i remember the smell of the book's binding and i remember my father reading it to me. It wasn't until i got much older that i realized what a service Steptoe was doing for children by writing the book. My father was no tyrant but the book helped me overcome that natural fear that i think most kids have of their fathers. The water color paintings don't hurt either and i think they are as integral to the book as the artwork in Carrol's Alice in Wonderland. If i remember right this one was a Newberry winner and if it wasn't it should have been.

John Steptoe is one of my favorite children's writers. I like his book Daddy Is a Monster Sometimes .I am from the monster generation. This book takes me back to my childhood days. Monsters would transform into their evil selves on television. I grew up in the late seventies in the city of Philadelphia. We didn't have cable, but we had our monster pictures on television every Saturday afternoon. Many of those films were very old and technology was not as advanced as it is now, however I enjoyed them. The characters in this story often view each other as monsters. Steptoe's illustrations beautifully show the transformation of these characters from person into monster. When the children misbehave, which is quite often, daddy has to get tough with them. They have a way of bringing the monster in him out. This is a great story about an African-American family and the loving relationship that they have... I am so glad to see that it is available again...