Pocket. May 2001. c.272p. photogs. index. ISBN 0-7434-1034-3. pap. $13.95. CHILD REARING
Fox, director of Seattle’s Pediatric Therapy Clinic, offers this gentle, sports-themed book filled with 72 activities. Her easy, stimulating games encourage father-child intimacy from birth (e.g., the aptly titled “Daddy Huddle” in which the new team snuggle together) to about 18 months (e.g., “Halftime Band” involves music). Chapters are grouped by the age of the child and feature short advisory sections. Writing in an authoritative voice that will reassure new, and most likely nervous, fathers, Fox resorts to familiar sports metaphors, as when she compares learning diapering to rookie basketball: “Did your coach stick you in the middle of a game with a bunch of experienced guys and expect you to play like a pro? No … [and yet] eventually you put all the pieces together and learned to play basketball.” Accompanying photographs vividly demonstrate the joy of bonding. Appropriate for gifts and public libraries.
This review appeared in Library Journal 126.6, April 1, 2001 on page 129. The galley was recycled almost 11 (!) years later on January 10, 2012.
