Friends of ours, S & L, bought Leo some books when he was born, all of them favourites of their son. Two of them were by Anthony Browne: My Dad and My Mum.
I do love these books. The board book versions (also available in paperback, I think) are the perfect size for a baby or toddler to hold and turn the pages, as they are neither too long nor too square, plus the text on each page is minimal which makes them the ideal length for reading to a page-turning obsessive with a short concentration span (i.e. Leo). Both are witty and sweet and tender and fun, and the illustrations are beautifully conceived. Mum and dad are not the most beautiful people in the world; they just look pretty ordinary really. Both look tired, and a little flabby and frayed around the edges.
Each picture is recognisably mum and dad, even when it is something else entirely. When mum is a beautiful butterfly, she is covered in the same flower-print as mum's robe; when dad swims like a fish, the fish's dressing gown is tied with a brown rope belt just like dad's.
Even the ending "I love my dad. And you know what? He loves me (and he always will)" somehow manages to be sweet and sentimental rather than cloying. Dad - as does mum - envelopes child in a big bear hug, and all seems right with the world.
It's lucky that I like these books, because at the moment I have to read them several times every evening before bed. My only concern is that Leo has a marked preference for My Dad to the extent that he refuses to listen to My Mum, or any other story, if My Dad is anywhere in the vicinity. If I were a slightly more paranoid parent than I already am, I might take this as a sign that I am surplus to requirements!
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