The first time I read My Daddy Is a Cowboy, I was drawn to C. G. Esparanza’s stunning illustrations and the sweetness of the narrative by Stephanie Seales. I love a good father-daughter story, and this one comes wrapped in an incredibly beautiful package.

On subsequent readings, I only found more things to appreciate and enjoy. This atmospheric picture book is about a Panamanian American girl and her daddy who take their horses out for an early-morning ride. Esparanza’s vibrant oil-paint illustrations on watercolor paper do a wonderful job of portraying the natural environment, and I will get to that. But, first, I have to talk about the people portrayed in this book.

The characters are radiantly beautiful, not in the they-should-be-on-a-catwalk way. But in the there’s-a-bright-light-shining-within-them way. Their dark brown skin is dynamic, luminous, and lifelike. Esparanza does a particularly good job with the young protagonist. From the front cover, her face reflects the sunlight, and her smile conveys sheer joy. This is most evident as she greets her pony, Clover. When the girl embraces the light brown pony’s golden mane, her smile grows wider, and her face takes on an angelic quality.

Much of the action in this story takes place before sunrise, and Esparanza’s boldly colored backgrounds infuse energy into these predawn scenes. It’s dark and quiet when the girl and her daddy set out for their ride. The sky is “midnight black” before morphing into a calming “deep ocean blue” and then becoming “swirly sherbert colors.”

Esparanza’s attention to detail is also noteworthy. The girl’s abuelita uses a coffee mug with a Panamanian flag. She’s also wearing traditional dress for the country, and a photo on the wall shows her as a young woman, wearing similar clothing. The girl has long braids with multicolored beads on the end, and her pony has the same beads in her mane.

The illustrations in this book also provide details about the characters that we don’t fully get from the text alone. Clearly, the girl and her daddy enjoy their “just us” time together. But I think we learn the most about the dad through Esparanza’s work. From the first double-page spread, we see him gently waking his daughter. The next time we see him he has a big smile while he’s helping her put on her cowboy boots. The dad also has long locs and a large tattoo on his left arm, markers that some might find threatening, but the dad is depicted in ways that defy this stereotype about Black men. During the daddy-daughter ride, he tells cowboy stories in a “quiet voice,” one that is “deep but never loud.” He’s also shown tenderly caring for his horse before the big ride and teaches his daughter that “Cowboys respect horses.”

In the penultimate double-page spread, the duo has returned home. Daddy is surrounded by his family.  He has his arms around his daughter and his wife who is giving him a kiss. Abuelita and a younger child are nearby. His daughter is beaming as she recounts their ride. She has reserved her biggest smile for this time as she recounts their special day and triumphantly declares “my Daddy is a cowboy...And so am I.”

A fitting end to a picture book that celebrates Black fathers and modern-day Black cowboys.

[Read The Horn Book Magazine review of My Daddy Is a Cowboy]