New ebooks From Canadian Indies

9781773061085_cover Enlarge Cover
0 of 5
0 ratings
rated!
rated!
list price: $18.95
edition:Hardcover
also available: eBook
category: Children's Fiction
published: Aug 2020
ISBN:9781773061085
publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd

Weekend Dad

by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Frank Viva

tagged: marriage & divorce, new experience, parents
Description

A little boy spends the weekend at his dad’s new apartment in this picture book about how things change when parents separate — and the important things that stay the same.

“This home is home because my dad is here, and it’s nothing like home because my mom isn’t here,” thinks the boy in this story when he enters his dad’s new apartment for the first time. His dad moved out on Monday and now it’s Friday night, the start of his weekend with his dad.

The boy and his dad follow their normal weekend routine — they eat eggs for breakfast, play cards and spend time at the park. And then they do the same things on Sunday. It is hard to say goodbye at the end of the weekend, but Dad gives his son a letter to remind him that, even if they can’t always be together, the boy is loved.

Naseem Hrab has written a poignant yet hopeful story, strikingly illustrated in Frank Viva’s signature style, about what happens when parents separate, and the new reality of having two homes.

Key Text Features
author’s note
writing inspiration

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

About the Authors

Naseem Hrab

NASEEM HRAB is a writer and storyteller, and the author of the Otis & Peanut series, the Ira Crumb series, How to Party Like a Snail, and The Sour Cherry Tree, which won the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award. Her comedy writing has appeared on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and The Rumpus. She loves improv and coffee ice cream. Naseem lives in Toronto, Ontario.


Frank Viva

FRANK VIVA is an award-winning illustrator and designer living and working in Toronto. His first picture book, Along a Long Road, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award and was named one of the New York Times’ 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books. His other books for children include Sea Change, which was a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection, Outstanding in the Rain and Young Frank, Architect. His art has appeared in the New York Times and on the cover of the New Yorker. He is a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review.

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
Age:
4 to 7
Grade:
k to 2
Reading age:
4 to 7
Awards
  • Short-listed, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award
  • Commended, CCBC Choices
  • Commended, Kirkus Best Picture Books of the Year
  • Short-listed, Governor General's Literary Award, Young People's Literature — Illustrated Books
  • Winner, Toronto Public Library First and Best
Editorial Reviews

Hrab uses repetition … 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.

— Publishers Weekly

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.

— Kirkus Reviews

The sketchy cartoon illustrations are as simple as the story, which they reflect in this affecting story of a child of divorce.

— Booklist

Frank Viva’s restrained hand-inked illustrations match Hrab’s prose perfectly … [F]or children – and parents – who find themselves navigating post-divorce realities, [Weekend Dad] will feel essential.

— Quill & Quire

Truthful and touching, this picture book sends the reassuring message that children can be deeply loved even when parents separate.

— Horn Book

Separation and divorce are common, and this book is a great recommendation for any family dealing with them.

— School Library Journal
X
Contacting facebook
Please wait...