Customer Reviews

Visiting Day

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Touching, loving, and real.

Told from the point of a little girl whose father is in prison, this is a book more about enduring love than anything else.

Too often, books about difficult times are preachy or too wordy. This one gets straight to the point: I love my dad. I see him when I can. He loves me and we are glad to have family.

Good for children in that situation, good for compassion for others, and also a very readable story.

VISITING DAY is a book about special day each month for the little girl who narrates this story. It is a day when she gets to dress up, look pretty, ride a bus with her grandmother, eat chicken and other goodies, but most of all she gets to visit her incarcerated father. Told and illustrated from a child's point of view, the story shows how children have unconditional love for their parents, even if a parent has made a mistake.

Jacqueline Woodson has taken a controversial topic and made an extraordinary book. The story does not criticize, but instead shows love, and James Ransome's true to life illustrations adds to the happy feeling and tone of the book. Although this is an excellent book for all children, I highly recommend this book to any child who is forced to deal with having a family member incarcerated.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Family is a familiar theme of children's books but this one tackles the difficult task of honoring the incarcerated father.
The strength of a grandmother's love holds this family intact.
Handled delicately and told from the point of view of a child confident that her father loves and misses her. Excitement mounts as the girl prepares to visit her dad. Beautiful language describes the bus ride and camaraderie of the passangers. The illustrations are amazing in their attention to detail. Its the little things in the background, a calendar, girl's drawings taped to wall of her dad's cell that make this book so engaging.

Neither melodramatic nor sugar coated, Visiting Day presents a snapshot of a family with candor and grace.

Note to teachers, mentors and counselors, this is a perfect addtion to your "sensitive" book collection. Wonderful for starting a discussion with older children but best used as a one on one read aloud.

I have looked everywhere for this book and I bought it used and in GREAT condition.

VISITING DAY is a book about special day each month for the little girl who narrates this story. It is a day when she gets to dress up, look pretty, ride a bus with her grandmother, eat chicken and other goodies, but most of all she gets to visit her incarcerated father. Told and illustrated from a child's point of view, the story shows how children have unconditional love for their parents, even if a parent has made a mistake.

Jacqueline Woodson has taken a controversial topic and made an extraordinary book. The story does not criticize, but instead shows love, and James Ransome's true to life illustrations adds to the happy feeling and tone of the book. Although this is an excellent book for all children, I highly recommend this book to any child who is forced to deal with having a family member incarcerated.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

So I take this to mean that we've reached the point of moral decay that it's perfectly normal for daddy to be a convict in prison? I bought the book, hoping praying that there was a punch line. The punch line is this book is being serious.