Michael Dennis Browne (1940–2026)

ELIB 530A – LibraryThing Part B – Picture Book 7
This book was written by a father of three daughters and is a beautiful sentiment to all of them. The book begins with the father saying that if he could give anything at all in the whole world to his daughter to show his love, it would be the river. He uses the river as a metaphor of his love for her throughout the book. I think most people would describe the watercolor illustrations as “picturesque and golden”. I found the text to show more sometimes be a bit choppy but the sentiment overrides that. Also, the illustrations were a bit heavy with over zealous brushwork and a bit amateurish for my taste. I would have liked to see them rendered much more simply or perhaps had the artist use pastels or other media for more textural variety. Those things are personal tastes however. All in all the book is wonderful in that it expresses what a father deeply feels for his daughter and it gives fathers and daughters the opportunity to be close while sharing it. One can see that this book can be used and felt on different levels. This father may have already brought these things to his daughter over the years and is reminiscing. In my final judgment, this book is tender testament to the all encompassing and powerful unbounded love that a father has for his daughter. show less

I liked the illustration in Browne's book, however, I didn't really like the book. Found it was a little confusing at times when I read this to my little cousin. This book is about a father wanting to show his love for his daughter and wants to get her a river.