Book Description
for On My Papa's Shoulders by Niki Daly
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
A boy describes how his city walks to school with various family members—Mama, Gogo, Tata, and Papa—are predictably different with each adult. Mama walks quickly and gives a goodbye kiss; Gogo prefers the quiet route and doesn’t hurry, allowing time for an encounter with a stray cat; and Tata uses shortcuts and prefers a parting hug to holding hands. But the best school walks are on Papa’s shoulders, where the boy is “high as a cloud and can see the whole world.” Loving relationships shine in the routine of a common daily activity. The mix of shorter and longer sentences and phrasing creates a wonderful narrative pace that is judiciously adjusted across the story to subtly mirror the qualities of each walk. Although no setting is named, this Black family appears to live in South Africa. Honor Book, 2023 Charlotte Zolotow Award ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center (Ages 3-6)
CCBC Choices 2023. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2023. Used with permission.