Overall, a sensitive approach to a difficult issue that will certainly provoke discussion.
A little girl and her grandmother wake early to prepare for the trip to visit the girl’s father.
There are smiles of excited anticipation as Grandma fries chicken and braids the little girl’s hair before they catch the bus. The bus ride has a festive air as the riders share lunch. Finally, they arrive at the prison where Daddy waits eagerly to see his daughter and mother. Once home, Grandma reassures the girl that “one day we’ll be able to wake up and have Daddy right there in our house again.” Ransome’s (Quilt Counting, p. 951, etc.) lovely, bold acrylic paintings depict the girl and her grandmother in a neat, well-ordered, well-cared-for environment—even the scenes in the prison are cheery and bright and imply that the inmates are not violent offenders. Woodson (Our Gracie Aunt, not reviewed, etc.) and Ransome accomplish the goal of representing a loving family holding up admirably in the face of adversity. Nevertheless, for some it may be difficult not to wonder what Daddy did to land in prison. The girl’s family may love each other unconditionally (as the jacket copy states), but it is a more difficult job for the reader whose questions about Daddy go unanswered. That all the prison inmates but one are black, as are all the visitors, while the prison guard is white raises another set of questions. Although this reflects a reality about disproportionate incarceration rates for African-American men, does it also perpetuate stereotypes?
Overall, a sensitive approach to a difficult issue that will certainly provoke discussion. (author and illustrator notes) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-590-40005-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
PERSPECTIVES
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
At her best, Rylant’s (The Ticky-Tacky Doll, below, etc.) sweetness and sentiment fills the heart; in this outing, however, sentimentality reigns and the end result is pretty gooey. Pandora keeps a lighthouse: her destiny is to protect ships at sea. She’s lonely, but loves her work. She rescues Seabold and heals his broken leg, and he stays on to mend his shipwrecked boat. This wouldn’t be so bad but Pandora’s a cat and Seabold a dog, although they are anthropomorphized to the max. Then the duo rescue three siblings—mice!—and make a family together, although Rylant is careful to note that Pandora and Seabold each have their own room. Choosing what you love, caring for others, making a family out of love, it is all very well, but this capsizes into silliness. Formatted to look like the start of a new series. Oh, dear. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84880-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
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