A moving view of “visiting day”-- the monthly routine of a young girl going with her grandmother to visit her incarcerated father. Told from the point of view of the little girl, the picture book is powerful in its simplicity.--- almost a spare retelling of the facts—waking up early to the smell of fried chicken, grandma fixing your hair just right, a neighbor coming by with a package to be delivered to her son, waiting for a certain bus, etc…held together with the simple refrain ”Only on visiting day”. Woodson is gifted at speaking in any voice she chooses, and the personal note she adds at the end, about visiting a favorite uncle when she was young, only adds to the tale. James E. Ransome’s watercolor illustrations are stunning and only add to the power of the text. Thought provoking and moving and visually rich, my only concern was the danger of stereotyping black men and their families. The percentages of black men incarcerated in this country far outstrip other groups, but care needs to be taken not to unwittingly reinforce racist beliefs about black youth. I would not hesitate to use it as part of a Woodson author study or in a unit/program about families or the Black experience. Love Woodson. Grades K-3 +
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