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WORK TITLE: Tuesday Is Daddy’s Day
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CITY: New York
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COUNTRY: United States
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LAST VOLUME: SATA 353
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married, husband’s name Stephen Morris; children: one daughter.
EDUCATION:Cooper Union, B.F.A. (communication design), 1971; Hunter College of the City University of New York, M.A. (theatre directing).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, illustrator, designer, and art director. Fourth Wall Repertory, New York, NY, founding member, playwright, performer, and director, 1978-90; Scholastic, Inc., New York, NY, art director, 1991-2005; Disney Publishing Worldwide, director of children’s books, 2000-2003; Blue Apple Books, New York, NY, associate publisher, 2004-14; freelance graphic designer and publisher specializing in children’s products; has directed stage productions for various New York City festivals.
AWARDS:Gold award for best children’s book, Florida Book Council, 2015, for It’s a Seashell Day.
WRITINGS
Author and performer of one-man musical play Everything Goes! 60 Years in 60 Minutes, Duplex, New York, NY, 2010; as playwriter for the Barrow Group, has written plays including Leap, Two Broken Taillights, Under My Skin, The Dog Died, and License & Registration.
SIDELIGHTS
A graphic designer with a love of modern design, Elliot Kreloff devotes some of his time to illustrating children’s books. Kreloff’s colorful images are particularly effective at illuminating basic concepts for toddlers, and his colorful and entertaining art can be found in the “Begin Smart” and “Basic Concepts” board-book series. In addition to bringing to life dozens of stories, such as Harriet Ziefert’s picture book Bigger than Daddy, Seymour Chwast’s The Miracle of Hanukkah, Dianne Ochiltree’s It’s a Seashell Day, and Wiley Blevin’s Duck, Duck, Goose, Kreloff entertains children in original, self-illustrated books such as All Gone!, Harry Bear and Friends Count Fish, and the kid-empowering companion works Please Don’t Make Me Fly! A Growing-Up Story of Self-Confidence and Worth the Wait: A Growing-Up Story of Self-Esteem.
Kreloff’s playful, pastel-colored illustrations are a highlight in Bigger than Daddy, as Ziefert follows a father and son sharing special time together. Young Edward wishes he were as big as his dad so that he could do all the things his dad does. Given the chance to be the father in a role-reversal game, Edward scolds his father for not finishing his juice, but the game ends when the boy wants a drink of juice as well. In Booklist, Todd Morning noted that “Kreloff’s colorful, childlike, crayon-and-collage illustrations convey Edward’s exuberance and the story’s humor,” and Mary Hazelton wrote in her School Library Journal review that the illustrator’s use of “simple lines and strong colors” intensifies the child’s point of view.
Kreloff also contributes art to Ziefert’s Mommy, I Want to Sleep in Your Bed!, a children’s book about a young beagle that is reluctant to sleep in his own bed. His characteristic collage artwork “soften[s] the somewhat uncompromising message,” noted Booklist critic Jennifer Mattson, while a Kirkus Reviews writer concluded that Kreloff’s simple, crayon-like images “suit the mood and topic perfectly.” A collaboration between Ziefert and actor Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lights on Broadway: A Theatrical Tour from A to Z introduces young children to the dazzling world of New York City theatre. In “neon illustrations,” Kreloff’s mix of drawings and typography captures “the dazzle and buzz of Broadway,” according to a Publishers Weekly critic.
In bringing to life Ochiltree’s nature-themed story in It’s a Seashell Day, Kreloff crafts “exquisite” illustrations that utilize “photographed textures, torn and cut papers, airbrushing and paint washes to bring to life the magic of the day,” according to a Kirkus Reviews writer. Reviewing the same work, Horn Book Guide contributor Andrea Curtis wrote that the collage-styled art, with its “bold shapes, colors, and textures, … will dazzle young beach lovers.”
In Kreloff’s self-illustrated picture book The Luckiest Snowball, young Izzy is playing outside with his dog one winter day when a snowball he has just packed starts speaking to him. The snowball joins in as Izzy and his dog make snow angels and a snowman, and, giving him the name Larry, Izzy escorts him into the freezer in order to make some indoor friends, like the ice cubes, and outlive the winter. As the seasons change, Izzy takes Larry out to see the altered world, making sure not to let him melt too much whenever Larry’s plaintive cry of concern rings out in hand-cut-style lettering. When winter rolls around again, Larry contentedly goes back out with the rest of snowkind, happy to have made a friend. The book’s back matter discusses the seasons and how water freezes and melts.
A Kirkus Reviews writer was especially impressed with the digital artwork in The Luckiest Snowball, calling the pictures “delightful,” “bold,” and “cheery.” The reviewer also appreciated the snowball’s “hilarious expressions” in the “charming” seasonal scenes. The Kirkus Reviews writer commented on the “striking illustrations with lots of sparkle.”
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Kreloff’s 2021 self-illustrated picture book, Tuesday Is Daddy’s Day, takes a page from the author’s own life and experiences, celebrating the varieties a family can take. The little girl in the story is happy with her busy and varied routine. Her mother picks her up from school on some days and then they walk home together. On other days, her father picks her up from school and they take a bus home to the apartment he shares with his partner, Harry. The little girl loves the variety of this schedule–she has two homes and two rooms, but still, altogether, it is one big family that loves her. But when her mother picks her up on a Tuesday, the little girl is upset: that is her Daddy’s day. She becomes worried about her father until he finally shows up with a big surprise for her: a puppy.
Reviewing Tuesday Is Daddy’s Day in Booklist, Lolly Gepson had praise for the illustrations that are “alive with energy and emotion.” Gepson added: “Children will be eager to guess what Daddy reveals.” Similarly, a Kirkus Reviews contributor termed the book a “welcome mirror for rainbow families,” and further commented that it “delightfully normalizes and affirms co-parenting.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of Mommy, I Want to Sleep in Your Bed!, p. 52; May 1, 2006, Todd Morning, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 94; December 1, 2008, Hazel Rochman, review of Mighty Max!, p. 58; May 1, 2021, Lolly Gepson, review of Tuesday Is Daddy’s Day, p. 52.
Horn Book Guide, spring, 2010, Paula M. Cairo, review of Lights on Broadway: A Theatrical Tour from A to Z, p. 159; fall, 2016, Cyrisse Jaffee, review of Big Box of Shapes, p. 7, and Andrea Curtis, review of It’s a Seashell Day, p. 17.
Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2005, review of Mommy, I Want to Sleep in Your Bed!, p. 1149; May 1, 2006, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 471; November 15, 2008, review of Mighty Max!; February 15, 2015, review of It’s a Seashell Day; August 15, 2019, review of The Luckiest Snowball; April 1, 2o21, review of Tuesday Is Daddy’s Day.
Publishers Weekly, November 9, 2009, review of Lights on Broadway, p. 47.
School Library Journal, July, 2005, Susan Lissim, review of Fish Wish, p. 85; November, 2005, Maryann H. Owen, review of Mommy, I Want to Sleep in Your Bed!, p. 111; August, 2006, Mary Hazelton, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 100;February, 2009, Linda M. Kenton, review of Mighty Max!, p. 88; December 2009, Madigan McGillicuddy, review of Lights on Broadway, p. 101; October, 2010, Amelia Jenkins, review of Lily’s Potty, p. 88; September, 2015, Sara White, review of It’s a Seashell Day, p. 126.
Teacher Librarian, April, 2007, John Peters, review of Bigger than Daddy, p. 15.
ONLINE
Network 9, http://network9.biz/ (August 1, 2017), “Funky, Modern, Accessible: A Chat with Designer Elliot Kreloff.”
New Play Exchange, https://newplayexchange.org/ (October 6, 2019), author profile.*
Elliot Kreloff is an award-winning designer and illustrator. Elliot has worked on a broad range of children’s books including early readers and fiction and nonfiction picture books. His SAMi Flip-A-Face and Flip-A-Shape series have won best book awards from Child magazine and Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio. It’s A Seashell Day, which he illustrated, won the gold award for best children’s book in 2015 from the Florida Book Council. Elliot studied design and illustration at The Cooper Union in New York City. He currently lives and works in Harlem, New York, with his partner, author and historian, Stephen Morris.
QUOTE: "alive with energy and emotion." Gepson added: "Children will be eager to guess what Daddy reveals."
Tuesday Is Daddy's Day. By Elliot Kreloff. Illus. by the author. May 2021. 48p. Holiday, $18.99 (9780823448913). PreS-Gr. 2.
This little, brown-skinned girl doesn't like surprises. She prefers routine, made evident by her calendar, which is clearly marked with labels--Mom, Dad, ballet, and so on--as she travels back and forth between Mommy s house and the apartment Daddy shares with his partner, Harry. But wait! Why is Mommy picking her up after school on Tuesday? That's Daddy's day! Shouts, tantrums, and resistance follow as she pictures Daddy eaten by the Big Bad Wolf, kidnapped by pirates, or beamed up by a flying saucer. But Mommy explains that they're taking a taxi to Daddy's while he is off getting a special surprise. Not a fan of surprises, the girl sulks in her room--until Daddy arrives with a puppy, destined to be named Surprise. The last page provides special tips for caring for a new puppy. The cartoon artwork could have been drawn by this little narrator--every bright illustration is alive with energy and emotion. Children will be eager to guess what Daddy reveals.--Lolly Gepson
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Gepson, Lolly. "Tuesday Is Daddy's Day." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 17, 1 May 2021, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662304659/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bed55eb6. Accessed 15 Oct. 2021.
QUOTE: "welcome mirror for rainbow families," and further commented that it "delightfully normalizes and affirms co-parenting."
Kreloff, Elliot TUESDAY IS DADDY'S DAY Holiday House (Children's None) $18.99 5, 11 ISBN: 978-0-8234-4891-3
Initially upset about a broken routine, a child gets a special surprise.
A long-haired, brown-skinned child thinks they’re “lucky” because having split parents means two rooms: a pink room at Daddy’s and a blue room at Mommy’s. As the endpapers’ sticker-decorated calendar reveals, the child’s schedule gets a little complicated as they shuffle back and forth among households and school. But wherever they go, they bring Daisy, their blue stuffed dog, with them. Whether with Mommy or with Daddy and his partner Harry, there’s no shortage of fun (and a little yucky broccoli). One Tuesday, the child is supposed to be with Daddy but Mommy shows up at school instead. Mommy says “Daddy had something special to do today.” That makes the child—and Daisy—mad. Where could Daddy be? And what is the special surprise? Using different solid-color backgrounds, Kreloff effectively compares and contrasts the child’s routines at their two homes. The childlike cartoon drawings combine thick pencil lines with collage, making the human figures pop on the page. Taking place after a separation has already occurred, the story delightfully normalizes and affirms co-parenting. Still, the child’s first-person narration and illustrations do tilt a bit in Daddy’s favor. Both Mommy and Daddy have brown skin; Harry presents White. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 39.1% of actual size.)
A welcome mirror for rainbow families. (new puppy instructions) (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Kreloff, Elliot: TUESDAY IS DADDY'S DAY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A656696373/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c58b7aaf. Accessed 15 Oct. 2021.