Going Down Home With Daddy

April 15, 2019
In a lushly illustrated tribute to family history, an African-American boy and his family take their annual trip to his great-grandmother’s farm for a reunion. The pivotal event is a family celebration during which each individual performs. Lil Alan’s cousins have their presentations prepared—one cousin will read a Langston Hughes poem, another will share a scrapbook “in Granny’s favorite color blue.” Alan, though, is stumped: “I kick a stone and my eyes start to burn.” But as he internalizes the energy of the farm, tastes “love-made dishes,” and enjoys family, the words come: “Cotton for the quilts Granny made to keep her children warm... A pecan for the trees Pa planted and all the kids love to climb.” Lyons’s image-rich prose and Minter’s powerful acrylics—rendered in shadowy blues and fiery shades—convey a sense of historical struggle alongside cherished tradition while capturing the experience of performance jitters. Ages 4–8.

In a performance that pays homage to dads everywhere, Daxton Edwards narrates with down-home warmth and sincerity, voicing Lyons's lyrical text, which recounts a trip to a family reunion. Adopting a folksy speech pattern and a cadence reminiscent of the rural South, Edwards provides a narration that is in harmony with the production's lilting music. Occasional sound effects reflect textual highlights, such as a ride through the fields on a tractor and the clinking of plates, cutlery, and glassware as the family sits down to eat "love-made" food. This immersive audiobook stands well on its own, but listeners may want to pick up the print book so they can also enjoy Daniel Minter's luminous 2020 Caldecott Honor illustrations. S.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine