In Daddy's Arms I am Tall is a poetry book containing 12 outstanding poems coming to life about the relationship of children and their fathers.  Each poem is written by and African American writer sharing the various experiences they have shared with their dads.  Fatherhood is celebrated through humor, memories, honor, and grace as Javaka Steptoe paints the images that comes to life on each page.  The poems show how strong a fathers bond is with his son or daughter and just how much children appreciate that relationship.  Although, this poetry book does not have a specific storyline, children will read, in a new and different way, about other people's experiences with their fathers.

While this is a great book to celebrate fathers, we also live in a time where single parenting is quite common.  When reading these poems in class, I would ensure to point out that for some students it may be a grandfather, uncle, brother, or another family member who takes this role.  I would also pair it up with a story about mothers for those students whose mother plays both the mom and dad role in the house.