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Up High
A walk down busy city streets can feel scary when you’re small, but the world doesn’t seem so frightening when you’re perched up high on Dad’s shoulders! Going up high on Dad's shoulders is the best way to feel BIG in cities that make you feel small. This tender, funny celebration of the bond between father and child will resonate with children and adults alike. Join one child and their father for a stroll through their neighborhood as they spot lots of wonderful things—big and small—along the way.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published May 7, 2024
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Matt Hunt
51Ìýbooks11ÌýfollowersMatt Hunt started out as a fine artist and then developed a love for children’s illustration. He works in mixed media and enjoys creating new and interesting characters influenced by old movies, classic illustration, cartoons, and books. He currently shares a house in Worcestershire, England, with his wife, Hayley, and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 29, 2024
Cute book about a son and father who walk around the city together. Loved the art. Good book for children.
April 10, 2024
Little one can see better on daddy's shoulders when walking down the street but when sitting on the bench in park it's easy to find all sorts of bugs and small animals. I liked that dad had tattoo sleeves.
The illustrations by the author are simple, imaginative, colorful, and delightful.
Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age including ESL, especially at bedtime. Also great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, hospital, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Nosy Crow via NetGalley. Thank you!
The illustrations by the author are simple, imaginative, colorful, and delightful.
Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age including ESL, especially at bedtime. Also great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, hospital, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Nosy Crow via NetGalley. Thank you!
July 2, 2024
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
A young boy spends the day with his father, walking to the park to eat their sack lunch. Since the boy is so small, everyone on the street towers above him. At one point, he asks to go "up high", and his father lifts him onto his shoulders, holding on tight. The view is much better, and the boy feels like he is flying, and is glad to be able to have a better view of the world. After they eat their lunch, however, he sees that small things around him, like ladybugs, are also interesting. When the father asks if he would like a ride home as well, the boy declines; at least until he is too tired to walk, and his father carries him home, cuddled close.
It's hard to be small, and to spend the day looking at people's legs, and it can be truly frightening in big crowds. The father seems to understand the boy's concerns, as well as his interests, and the two have a good relationship and clearly enjoy spending time together. I also enjoyed that when the father stopped to talk to someone, the boy got bored and started playing with his father's hair, motivating him to get moving!
The very plain, easy-to-read font contrasts nicely with the colorful line drawings, that are full of motion. There are lots of details, and I loved the one tattoo on the father that looks like the logo of the publisher. Since the two are outdoors, there are lots of leaves and green spaces portrayed.
This will be a popular choice for young boys to give to a beloved dad on Father's Day, along with titles like Jackson and Floca's With Dad, Lang and Yerrill's Why a Son Needs a Father, or Collins-Black and Gsell's Our Unbreakable Thread.
A young boy spends the day with his father, walking to the park to eat their sack lunch. Since the boy is so small, everyone on the street towers above him. At one point, he asks to go "up high", and his father lifts him onto his shoulders, holding on tight. The view is much better, and the boy feels like he is flying, and is glad to be able to have a better view of the world. After they eat their lunch, however, he sees that small things around him, like ladybugs, are also interesting. When the father asks if he would like a ride home as well, the boy declines; at least until he is too tired to walk, and his father carries him home, cuddled close.
It's hard to be small, and to spend the day looking at people's legs, and it can be truly frightening in big crowds. The father seems to understand the boy's concerns, as well as his interests, and the two have a good relationship and clearly enjoy spending time together. I also enjoyed that when the father stopped to talk to someone, the boy got bored and started playing with his father's hair, motivating him to get moving!
The very plain, easy-to-read font contrasts nicely with the colorful line drawings, that are full of motion. There are lots of details, and I loved the one tattoo on the father that looks like the logo of the publisher. Since the two are outdoors, there are lots of leaves and green spaces portrayed.
This will be a popular choice for young boys to give to a beloved dad on Father's Day, along with titles like Jackson and Floca's With Dad, Lang and Yerrill's Why a Son Needs a Father, or Collins-Black and Gsell's Our Unbreakable Thread.
April 24, 2024
Matt Hunt's Up High tells the story of a young boy and his father walking into town. The boy holds his father's hand. He feels so small in such a big city. The boy asks "to go up high." Daddy lifts him up onto his shoulders. His father holds him tight and he no longer feels so small. They look in the windows of shops. Then they go to the park to eat a picnic lunch on their favorite park bench. A while later, it's time to go home. His daddy asks if he wants "to go up high." He decides to walk. When he gets tired, daddy holds him tightly in his arms while he naps and carries him home. The author concludes the book with these words. "A dad's love can make even the littlest of kids feel like a giant."
A QR code is located at the end of the book, which can be scanned to hear the book read aloud. I absolutely adored this book. There's something about books about daddy's and children that always draws me in. My father was absent for most of my life. Every child deserves a loving, lasting relationship with both parents. It's fair to say that I live vicariously through books like this one. In spite of their simplicity, the illustrations are profound. This book I highly recommend.
A QR code is located at the end of the book, which can be scanned to hear the book read aloud. I absolutely adored this book. There's something about books about daddy's and children that always draws me in. My father was absent for most of my life. Every child deserves a loving, lasting relationship with both parents. It's fair to say that I live vicariously through books like this one. In spite of their simplicity, the illustrations are profound. This book I highly recommend.
May 3, 2024
I love picture books that explore perspective, especially when that perspective is enhanced by the artwork, which is the case in this one. The opening pages simply show two hands, a boy's and a tattooed man's, linked, and the subsequent pages play with close-ups of the child and the length of his father's legs and torso. Narrated by a youngster, the plot concerns the weekly walk the two of them take every Sunday. Walking along the crowded city streets, the boy starts feeling anxious and asks to sit on his father's shoulders so that he feels safe and can see what's around him. He no longer feels quite as small as he did before. Once they're in the park, the boy notices some of the small creatures there, including a ladybug, a rabbit, and ants busily moving up and down an anthill. Suddenly, their size makes him feel as though he's a giant. Buoyed by this awareness, he refuses his father's offer to hoist him on his shoulders again and walks by himself--at least for a while. Every page is a tribute to the bond between the father and his son, even the scene where the boy is exploring the pond but with his father's arms sheltering him, letting him take small risks but ever watchful.
September 12, 2024
Sometimes a new book unexpectedly leaves you with a warm happy feeling. Up high tells of a father-son outing. The son is uncertain at first in the bustling city. But when dad’s strong tattooed arms reach down to lift him onto his shoulders, a change of perspective happens. The art plays with perspective too. It’s a gentle tale of companionship, observation and growth. Exquisite picture book.
July 24, 2024
A child sees the world from different perspectives while taking a piggyback ride with his Dad to the city park. This book has a timeless feel with modern touches kids will identify with (a dad with lots of tattoos on his arms).
August 6, 2024
A sweet charming read for littles. Lots of sensory verbiage that puts you squarely in little MC’s viewpoint. Great reminder of perspective for adults, our experience as we move through the world compared to our littles. Showcases a sweet dad-child relationship as well. Highly recommend.
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July 13, 2024Turn/Level: B(1)/2.5
Positioning, Relative Size
A great story, I love that the illustrations are done from the kids' POV.
Positioning, Relative Size
A great story, I love that the illustrations are done from the kids' POV.
September 9, 2024
Very cute
December 7, 2024
Themes: sizes & heights (high & low, big & small), walking: city & parks; family
Ages: preK-1st grade
Pub year: 2024
Ages: preK-1st grade
Pub year: 2024
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January 27, 2025such a beautiful son and father walk,
where nature is noticed and ppl are watched
where nature is noticed and ppl are watched
March 8, 2025
The artist includes interesting perspectives in his story: what is big and what is little? Relative sizes are examined as this young boy and his father navigate the city streets and the park.
March 19, 2025
A boy and his dad go for a walk to the park.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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