The Night Dad Went to Jail

January 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-These books attempt to make difficult subjects understandable for young children. All four share the same format in terms of writing style and structure, and the greeting-card-cute illustrative styles are also markedly similar. These titles walk youngsters through the various emotions they are likely to experience when confronted with a traumatic event. In The Night Dad Went to Jail, the father is seen in handcuffs and later having to speak to his family through a fiberglass wall. In Weekends with Dad, a young fox finds living in two places confusing. In Good-bye, Jeepers, a panda overcomes his reluctance to stroke his dead pet one final time. In Saying Good-bye to Uncle Joe, the uncle is in his casket with a distraught young animal kneeling next to him. All four books do a good job of explaining the gamut of emotions that a child might experience and offer solid suggestions for coping with them. What is problematic here is the art. Having a lop-eared bunny (possibly a dog?) coping with the fact that his father will be in prison for six years seems to trivialize the event, as does having Dad looking cuddly in his orange jumpsuit. Perhaps that's a hedgehog in Saying Good-bye to Uncle Joe, although a beaver is another possibility. Despite this shortcoming, caregivers and counselors will find these books useful when attempting to discuss these situations.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2011
Grades K-3 With its volumes on the expiration of a pet, the death of a relative, and divorce, it would be nice if the Life's Challenges series wasn't necessary. But where trauma exists, there will always be picture books up to the challenge of addressing them. This sober explainer tells the story of a little bunny (or possibly a dog) named Sketch, whose life is disrupted when his father is carted away from home one night by the police. Salient details are in place: the cop who gives Sketch a teddy bear, the social worker who answers questions, the children's support group that Sketch joins a few weeks later. Dad's crime goes unspecified, though the six-year sentence suggests something significant. Occasional boxes fill in important facts (what a law is, how it's OK to feel awkward in a jail); and key imagessuch as speaking to Dad through a fiberglass wallare not avoided. Higgins' language is well pitched for adults to read to children, while Kirwan's art hits a nice balance between softness and realism.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)