Weekend Dad

March 1, 2020

K-Gr 2-On Monday morning, the boy's father moves out of their house. He is just a bus ride away, but now the boy is coming to terms with having two separate homes-one with each parent. His father does his best to adhere to the boy's routines and explains that even though his life is changing, he is loved. Hrab's story is simple yet complex. The text and illustrations are straightforward, but this story has deeper meaning. Viva's illustrations exemplify his style and match the story perfectly. Images start off muted but get a little more vibrant as the story goes on, and as the boy begins to understand his father still loves him. The story reminds children that they are loved, even if their lives are changing. The father's letter at the end of the book could lead to honest and open discussions between parents and children. VERDICT Separation and divorce are common, and this book is a great recommendation for any family dealing with them.-Maeve Dodds, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2020
Grades K-3 On Monday morning, a boy's dad moves out of the house and into an apartment. Come the following Friday night, it's the boy's weekend with his dad, who explains to the boy that he has two homes now. But, the boy thinks, it's nothing like home because his mom isn't there. His dad says they should do something special, but the boy wants the comfort of doing what they always do on the weekend. And so they do. Before the boy returns to his mom?in an aw moment?he leaves his toy animal on his dad's bed, so the man won't be alone. When the boy arrives at his other home, his dad gives him a letter, which expresses his love for him. And then it's Friday again and another weekend with Dad. The unnamed boy tells his story in his own, age-appropriate, first-person voice that, in its quiet, accessible understatement, nicely conveys his emotions. The sketchy cartoon illustrations are as simple as the story, which they reflect in this affecting story of a child of divorce.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from May 25, 2020
After the narrator’s father moves out, the week passes slowly as the boy considers experiences as they relate to his dad (“My mom and I ate tuna-fish sandwiches for dinner. My dad hates tuna fish”). On Friday, he packs some clothes (and Wendell, his stuffed hedgehog) and travels with his father, 48 minutes away by bus, to a new, largely bare apartment: “This home is home because my dad is here. And it’s nothing like home because my mom isn’t here.” Nothing feels the same, but the two do what they can do establish a new normal, relying on their old patterns (“my dad and I always play Kings in the Corner on Saturdays”) and doing it all over again on Sunday (“Because that’s what we do on Sundays”). Hrab uses repetition (“Down the street, past the park and through the tunnel”) to simply yet powerfully establish the family’s new routine, while Viva’s line drawings, in shades of green, yellow, and rose, gently twine the child’s newly separate experiences of family. Ages 3–7.

July 1, 2020
The young boy narrator describes his first two weekends visiting his dad in Dad's new apartment. In spare, specific language, he tells of packing his bag; riding on the bus, where he tells Dad all about his week; and the scary feeling of sleeping in a strange new room. It's both home and not home: "This home is home because my dad is here. And it's nothing like home because my mom isn't here." The love between the boy and his parents is palpable throughout, and strongly reinforced when the father gives the boy a letter, worried that during the week his son "might forget that you are always in my heart." The mundane details of playing their usual card games and eating the same things they always eat ground the book in ordinary life and make the situation something to which even children who don't live in two homes can relate. Viva's retro illustrations feature thin, shaky black-ink outlines that convey uncertainty, filled in digitally with colors that initially are muted but gradually become bolder, with a shade of orange-red matching the hair of both father and son. Truthful and touching, this picture book sends the reassuring message that children can be deeply loved even when parents separate.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2020
The young boy narrator describes his first two weekends visiting his dad in Dad's new apartment. In spare, specific language, he tells of packing his bag; riding on the bus, where he tells Dad all about his week; and the scary feeling of sleeping in a strange new room. It's both home and not home: "This home is home because my dad is here. And it's nothing like home because my mom isn't here." The love between the boy and his parents is palpable throughout, and strongly reinforced when the father gives the boy a letter, worried that during the week his son "might forget that you are always in my heart." The mundane details of playing their usual card games and eating the same things they always eat ground the book in ordinary life and make the situation something to which even children who don't live in two homes can relate. Viva's retro illustrations feature thin, shaky black-ink outlines that convey uncertainty, filled in digitally with colors that initially are muted but gradually become bolder, with a shade of orange-red matching the hair of both father and son. Truthful and touching, this picture book sends the reassuring message that children can be deeply loved even when parents separate. Susan Dove Lempke

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from April 1, 2020
A child's narration captures the confusion and sorrow that children of separated and divorced parents can feel. Dad and mom have separated or perhaps even divorced, resulting in some life-altering changes. The redheaded child narrator has dad on the mind all week after Dad moves out on Monday. But on Friday night, it is time to say goodbye to Mom and visit Dad's new apartment: "My dad says I have two homes now." Accustomed to a home once shared with both parents (all three family members have pale skin), the child feels scared on the first night in dad's apartment and wanders into his room to watch him sleep, wondering if even grown-ups get scared too. The story captures little moments that have big meaning--the tender kiss Mom gives the child when leaving to stay with Dad for the first time; Dad's wide eyes as he picks up his kid at what used to be his own home; the child leaving a favorite stuffed animal with Dad so that he won't feel alone; and a poignant letter the father leaves with the child, an abridged version of one the author's own father once wrote to her. With characteristically stylized, offbeat visuals, Viva's illustrations capture the abundant emotional subtext with simple but effective lines. Unsparingly compassionate; an excellent addition to the collection of books about separation and divorce. (Picture book. 3-7)

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