Knock, Knock: My Dad's Dream For Me

written by Daniel Beaty 

illustrated by Bryan Collier

©2013. New York, New York. Little, Brown Company. Contemporary Realistic Fiction.
AD780L
Picture Book. Written in last 4 years. Diverse Protagonist.

Every morning, Dad knocks on the door and the boy and his dad play the knock, knock game. But one day his dad stops knocking. The boy wishes that his dad was there to help him as he grows older. The boy gets a note from his father giving him advice to follow as he gets older. 

I want to give everyone a fair warning that this book is a tearjerker. I would give this book a 32/32 based on the children's evaluation rubric, which you can find posted on the blog. This is the terribly sad story of a boy who begins by playing a game every morning with his dad, to a boy who has no father there at all. The story line is so well constructed, even though its terrible sad, and it shows a character of a diverse background in a leadership role. The illustrations are LOVELY, featuring collage and water color, and characters are depicted beautifully and in interesting ways. We get to see the boy grow without his father, and his character develops so wonderfully throughout the book. This book has social messages of continuing on through loss or missing someone, which I think is a positive social message, as this is something that many students face. This book is also very culturally relevant this weekend, as students have parents who are not there. At the end of the book, there is an authors note that says that it is about his own life and his dad being incarcerated, and what it is life to grow up with the pain of missing a parent. However, in the book, you cannot tell what happened to the dad necessarily, which makes this book relatable for many students whose parents may be gone in the military, passed away, live separately, or have a parent who is incarcerated, like the boy in the book. I would recommend this book for K through 3rd grade. 

Here are some literary elements that you may want to use in this book:

Title and Subtitle: Like multiple other books in this blog, this book also has a title and a subtitle. 

Ellipses: "how to dribble, how to shave...[on the next page]...how to drive, how to fix the car."

Colon:"...on my desk, I find a letter from my father:" and "...hear these words".

For a mini lesson on colons: Discuss how colons are used in this book and in other books that contain colons. Next, have students determine what the colon's  purpose is and why the author chose to use it. You may also want to look at semi-colons and compare how they are used in books.

Social Justice Theme: Incarceration