School Library Journal (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2005)

PreS-Gr 2 This title follows the format of Joosse's Mama, Do You Love Me? (Chronicle, 1991). In Papa , a Maasai father reassures his young son that his love is unconditional and endless. In answer to his son's questions, he explains that he will always protect the boy from the dangers of the Serengeti Plain and teaches him how to find water in their harsh environment. A glossary elaborates on the concepts introduced, such as the importance of cattle in Maasai life, medicinal uses of the Greenheart tree, and the role of the herd boy. The bright, stylized watercolors reflect the warm hues of the Serengeti. Details are clearly rendered, allowing children to visualize life in a culture different from their own. The father's red robe sweeps across much of the book, wrapping his small son in its protective embrace. Parents will snatch up this tender, reassuring book for bedtime read-alouds. Teachers of early elementary students may wish to use it as an introduction to the life of the Maasai. Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1999)

This strikingly original puzzle book contains three-dimensional representations of a general store, hotel, and circus, among other settings. Each scene is composed of more than one hundred everyday objects cunningly crafted to depict their surprising counterparts: a disposable razor is a vacuum cleaner; fig bars are seat cushions. Ignore the book's clunky rhymes and just enjoy the amazing scenery.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Featuring a dramatically different setting from the collaborators'<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Mama, Do You Love Me?, which centers on an Alaskan Inuit mother and daughter, this warmhearted companion introduces a Maasai boy and his father on the Serengeti. Like the young protagonist of the earlier book, this curious child verbally tests the limits of his parent's love, which is—words and art convincingly reinforce—boundless. Addressing his child as Tender Heart, the father incorporates references to Maasai culture as he answers his son: "I love you more than the warrior loves to leap, more than the bush baby loves the moon, more than the elder loves his stories." Local terms (explained in a glossary) come into play as the lad's questions become more specific. What if, as herd boy, one night he overate and fell asleep and hyenas crept in and stole his birthright cow? The father's articulate responses reassure the child that he will always be there to help his son—and to teach him. Echoing the soothing rhythm of the poetic narrative, Lavallee's graceful watercolors feature a harmoniously balanced palette, setting the bold hues and patterns of traditional Maasai clothing against the variegated blues of the sky, the pale tones of the plain and the natural markings of African animals. This vividly depicted setting underscores the universality of the book's message. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(June)

Kirkus Reviews

A pendant and companion to this duo's beloved Mama, Do You Love Me? (1991). While the gorgeous and glowing colors of the Maasai in Africa are very different from the Alaskan setting of the first book, the universality and beautiful emotional rhythms of the story remain the same. A boy asks his father the question of the title, and his father replies, "You came from your mama, whom I love, your grandpapas and grandmamas, whom I honor . . . You are my Tender Heart, and I love you." The boy asks, how long, and what would you do if it were hot, and what if I was afraid, and the father responds each time in deep rumbling tenderness: He will love his boy as long as "the Serengeti rolls to the sky," he would stretch out his blanket for shade, he would hold his son. The pictures are rich in tone and hue, expressive line and expansive gesture: Repeated motifs of textile and bead patterns, wild animal groups and a splendid curvilinear tree echo and support the text. A pendant and companion to this duo's beloved Mama, Do You Love Me? (1991). While the gorgeous and glowing colors of the Maasai in Africa are very different from the Alaskan setting of the first book, the universality and beautiful emotional rhythms of the story remain the same. A boy asks his father the question of the title, and his father replies, "You came from your mama, whom I love, your grandpapas and grandmamas, whom I honor . . . You are my Tender Heart, and I love you." The boy asks, how long, and what would you do if it were hot, and what if I was afraid, and the father responds each time in deep rumbling tenderness: He will love his boy as long as "the Serengeti rolls to the sky," he would stretch out his blanket for shade, he would hold his son. The pictures are rich in tone and hue, expressive line and expansive gesture: Repeated motifs of textile and bead patterns, wild animal groups and a splendid curvilinear tree echo and support the text. Sure to be another bestseller. (glossary) (Picture book. 3-8)