Papi's Gift, written by Karen Stanton and illustrated by René King Moreno, is a different kind of Father's Day book. Stanton tells the story of Graciela, a seven-year-old girl in an unnamed South American country. Though she talks to her father every weekend, he has been away in California for so long that she fears she is forgetting his face. A drought in her country has forced her father to earn a living far away, and Graciela and her family miss him terribly. She waits and waits for a promised birthday package, but it never comes. On her birthday, her father explains, I'm afraid it might be lost. But Graciela, like children everywhere, is not placated and retorts, You promised it would be here for my birthday. Gentle pastels highlight the loving family, even when they are heartbroken with worry and loneliness. Papi might live far away, but he is an important member of this family. Many children have fathers who work in distant places and Papi's Gift serves as a reminder that no matter how far away he is, a father is always a father.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
