My Daddy Can Fly!

Remember being a child? Remember playing grownup? Imagining what work they’re going to do as adults is a major preoccupation for children. Ironic as it may be, they can’t wait to be rid of their carefree days when they’re cared for and cuddled.

That’s where dress-up collections come in handy. In My Daddy Can Fly!, by American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Thomas Forster and Shari Siadat, Ben’s classmates announce their intended occupations - martial arts instructor, architect, doctor and teacher, many of their choices being influenced by significant adults in their lives, from relatives to their friendly classroom teacher.

Ben, on the other hand, puts on a cape and announces he’s going to be just like his dad - and he challenges his friends to figure out the puzzle. His dad can seemingly do anything - fly (but he’s not a pilot), is super strong (but he can’t lift weights), is as fast as a hummingbird, slow as a turtle, fierce as a tiger and as gentle as a butterfly. The kids are flummoxed.

Ben gives them a final clue, dancing around the classroom, turning, jumping, leaping, and finally making an elegant pirouette. The children cry out, “A ballet dancer! Your daddy is a ballet dancer!” They’re delighted, and their teacher predicts Ben may achieve his dream.

My Daddy Can Fly! is a pleasant book which normalizes all the children’s aspirations, no matter their gender. Ben shows his friends how talented, skilled and fit his father is as a ballet dancer, an enviable level of accomplishment. From an adult’s point of view, being a ballet dancer may be atypical and unusual. Certainly, it was considered unusual in the past, often the target of mocking. But that’s never mentioned by the children or the teacher which makes this book a positive contribution to children’s literature and to children’s perceptions of what they can do in life.

Vancouver artist Jami Gigot’s illustrations show a diverse group of happy children at ease with each other in the classroom. Her drawings of Ben’s father show a dancer executing an elegant leap with beautiful form. The soft hues reflect the calm atmosphere in the classroom, with darker blues representing images in Ben’s mind.

My Daddy Can Fly! will be a welcome addition to a teaching unit about occupations, gender roles or differences. Because no matter how much adults want children to remain young, they want to grow up. And some of them just may become dancers.