Dad and Me in the Morning - Hardcover

Lakin, Patricia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807514195 ISBN 13: 9780807514191

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company, 1994

Synopsis

Early one morning, a young boy wakes to the light of his alarm clock. He puts on his hearing aids and clothes, then goes to wake his father. Together they brave the cold as they walk down the dirt road that leads to the beach. Lakin’s understated story reminds readers that sometimes the best way to communicate doesn’t involve words, while Steele’s watercolor illustrations show that beauty is never far away.

About this title

About the Authors

Patricia Lakin, a former elementary school teacher and an award-winning author, has written more than fifty published works. Her books, both fiction and nonfiction, span multiple age groups―from toddlers to middle graders. Patricia lives in New York City with her husband, Lee Koenigsberg. They have two grown sons.

Robert G. Steele was originally trained as an architect and studied art in Austria as a Fulbright scholar. He has painted for Broadway productions, magazines, and many adult and children's books. He lives in California with his wife and children.

From the Inside Flap

Early one morning a young boy wakes to his special alarm clock. He puts on his hearing aids and clothes, then goes to wake his father. Together they brave the cold as they walk down the dirt road that leads to the beach.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-A young deaf boy awakens to the light of his special alarm clock, puts in his hearing aids, and tiptoes to awaken his father. Together they walk to the beach, observing nature. Jacob and his father have "lots of ways of talking...signing or lipreading or just squeezing each other's hands." For the most part, the straightforward text employs vigorous language: crunchy shells and snaky seaweed, hermit crabs scoot and sea gulls swoop and gobble; but a few of the word choices, such as "eensy" and "orangier," are less effective. Each page of text, placed on a pastel rectangle and bordered by lots of white space, faces a full-page, full-color illustration. Steele's striking watercolors employ earth tones; blues and greens; and red-orange, pale gold, and pink. The range of light is effectively conveyed, from the predawn dark to the brilliant sunrise at the end. (A quibble-two double-page spreads depicting the sunrise are actually darker than the four previous pictures, one of which finds Jacob saying, "It's getting lighter.") This story is similar to, but somewhat wider in scope than, Uri Shulevitz's Dawn (Farrar, 1974). Appropriate for both one-on-one and group sharing.
Cynthia K. Richey, Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Before dawn, the boy puts on his hearing aids and clothes and quietly wakes his dad with a flashlight; the two are going on a special excursion to the nearby beach to smell the seaweed, watch such early risers as a rabbit or a hermit crab, and wade in the icy water. Such companionable idylls appear frequently as picture books; what makes this one special is the handsome impressionistic watercolors (apparently Steele's debut) evoking the shadowy, gradually brightening scene and the casually introduced fact that the young narrator is deaf but has many ways of communicating (including both lip reading and signing) and enjoys a grand range of observations and sensations, crowned by the glorious sunrise he shares with his dad. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5-8. In a special morning interlude, a young boy awakens his father, and they go down to the beach to watch the sunrise. The young boy is deaf, but he and his father have many ways of communicating. Dealt with simply, as part of the reality of their relationship, the boy's deafness is unobtrusively woven into this story about a father and child sharing a moment in time. In tune with the sensitive tone of the text, Steele's atmospheric watercolor illustrations capture the rising light of dawn as well as the love between the boy and his father. Reminiscent of Jane Yolen's Owl Moon (1987), this warm story can be considered for all picture book collections. Annie Ayres

Edition details

• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807514195
• ISBN 13: 9780807514191
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Steele Robert G.
• Number of pages: 32