Nine Candles (First Person Series)

After visiting his mother in prison on his seventh birthday, Raymond wishes it were his ninth birthday when Mama has promised to be home with his dad and him

Grade 1-4?The reality of a prison sentence is brought down to a child's perspective in this unusual birthday story. Seven-year-old Raymond makes his weekly visit to this mother, who is in a correctional facility for stealing money from the restaurant where she used to work. "Mama says...she's never been so sorry for anything in her whole life. I don't like what she did, but I believe her." The boy is afraid that she has forgotten about his birthday, but when he arrives, she surprises him with a cake. Details of prison life, such as the fences, uniformed people with guns or dogs, and the experience of walking through a metal detector all add to this sensitive story. The colorful, cheerful paintings of this loving family are done in strong, bold strokes. The author notes that one and a half million children in the United States have a parent in prison. A thought-provoking picture book that shows the cost and consequences of crime.?Janet M. Bair, Trumbull Library, CT
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. This isn't the only early reader/picture book to tackle the subject of a child with a parent in prison (Butterworth's 1993 A Visit to the Big House stands out), but it is perhaps the first for the age group in which Mama, not Dad, is the parent behind bars. Raymond is finally seven years old, but he longs to be nine, because when he has nine candles on his birthday cake, his mother will be home. In a voice that's ingenuous but not totally naive, Raymond describes his visit to the prison--the guards, the metal detectors, the visiting room, and also the wonderful birthday cake his mother has for him. Testa shows the boy's sadness and his anger (at the system, not at his mother, which isn't entirely realistic), as well as his youthful resilience in the face of family trauma. Amanda Schaffer's illustrations, in rich, bright colors, are strong, like the family Testa has created. There is no moralizing here--just a child's nonjudgmental acceptance of something he cannot change and his anticipation of better times to come. An author's note puts the story into broader perspective. Stephanie Zvirin