I went to the library to drop off some books I had finished and to drop off my reading challenge form. My ride had some errands to run, so I told them to drop me off, and I would use the library as a way to pick up and read a few books I normally wouldn’t read. But first, I looked at the children’s room. I hadn’t been in there too often, and not since they had updated it. But the fist section I went to was of course the graphic novels section. And I would pick up three books from there. I would then look at the picture books. I didn’t find anything I wanted, so I started reading one of those graphic novels. It was Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton, Antoine Patton, Kiara Valdez and Markia Jenai. I had heard of it, but hadn’t really done any active looking into getting a copy. But here it was, in front of me. And it looked short. So, it would be the perfect book to try to read in the few hours I had.
Well, it might have been short, but it was packed pretty full of goodies. While this book was not “perfect” (I wanted a little more background about the family and more details when Jay Jay is at her new school, now living with her father) it is an interesting introduction to the subject of a parent who is incarcerated and the issues the families face. Not just going to see them, but the time it took for letters or packages to be sent back and forth, and sometimes they wouldn’t arrive at all. Then, we have the situations that Jay Jay and her father face once they move to Florida to start anew.
There are fun illustrations that keep the subject a bit lighter, without taking away from the seriousness of the situation. The colors are bold, but the details are actually minimalistic, but do not lack what is needed to help the story move. Again, I would have liked a slightly longer book, but it is a well-written book that is also not just a book about family and an incarcerated parent, or a father-daughter relationship, but also a great nod to getting girls into coding and computers.