A man in Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaanxi province, has been called the "warmest father" since pictures of his hand-painted textbook covers for his daughter's new school term were shared online, Beijing Youth Daily reported on September 12, 2019.

Li Xiaodong is the father of nine-year-old Li Zihan, who is in fourth grade at primary school. He has designed book covers for his daughter since she was in kindergarten.

He explained that he primarily created covers to protect the books. Thanks to his beautiful paintings, his daughter cherished the books more and was afraid of getting them scuffed or dirty.

Li recalled that when he was young, his parents covered his books with calendars or newspapers. So, for him, making these hand-painted book covers is also a passing down of tradition.

On the cover of Li Zihan's Chinese textbook, Li Xiaodong painted the image of Nezha from the movie Nezha, the devil is coming. (Photo/Beijing Youth Daily)

Before he paints, Li Xiaodong will first look for some materials online, and then make adjustments to his design.

The cover for a math textbook features characters from the Wandering Earth movie. (Photo/Beijing Youth Daily)

Some netizens have called him the "warmest father." However, Li Xiaodong himself didn't see it as a big deal and never expected to become famous online. Li mentioned that perhaps in most families, mothers take care of the children more, and so his behavior received attention. He believes that both parents love their children equally, but they express love in different ways.