The Fathers are Coming Home by Margaret Wise Brown

The Fathers are Coming Home by Margaret Wise Brown

Rating: 4.5 stars

Jonathan and I went to Boulder, Colorado, early this week for a short second honeymoon.  It was wonderful, for many reasons: First, the kids got some quality time with beloved Grammy and her GrandBill; second, we hiked ten long miles in through the gorgeous and nearly completely silent Rocky Mountains; third, we decided not to hike the second day and just bum around Boulder, so I had the time to go into every shop I wanted--even stores with tons of breakable things, and I didn't even have to push a stroller around!  I also had the incredible pleasure of shopping at Boulder Bookstore, an independent bookseller that made me ashamed at the length of time between Tuesday and the last time I was in an independent bookseller with creaky floors, lots of rooms, and completely helpful salespeople.

In case you're in the area there, check it out in person or online.  And, while I'm feeling ashamed at only going to Books A Million and Barnes & Noble, does anyone know of any independent bookstores in the Northern Virginia area?  Feel free to comment and/or provide links below...

So there I was, with my husband dozing happily in the hotel room, and I was totally free to browse anywhere I wanted.  Where did I end up?  The bookstore.  The children's section.  Hmmm.  But I was only there to choose one book for Lorelei, and one book for Ben, as souvenirs (I was not so tempted by the "My parents went to Boulder, and all I got was this T-shirt" t-shirts).

This is the one I selected for Ben.  It is not without issues--the biggest of which is that it doesn't include mothers.  I stay at home with our kids, so this is a nice book for Jonathan read when he makes it home by bedtime.  But I suspect there are a lot of working moms out there who will be too miffed to buy it, and I respect that boycott.

But I'm from an Army family, and know plenty of fathers (and mothers, see problem above) who are coming home to their families from war.  For that reason, I started tearing up at the cover of this book.  Look how happy the dad and son are to see each other!  Stephen Savage did an incredible job, and we look forward to checking out each and every other one of his children's books. 

Wait, there's only one.  Well, that'll be easy. 

Anyway, on each page an animal father, including fish, ladybug, rabbit, pigs, and daddy longlegs, comes home to his family.  (Except for the father lion, who lives alone, and comes home to himself.)  And on the last page, the boy's father, "who is a sailor, comes home from the sea."  In a dark image, the father is in his white uniform, and the last page is the same as the front cover.  I just want to frame that page, even though I'm an Army brat and...well...I really thought I've said, "Beat Navy!" too many times to appreciate anything sailor-related.

My brother-in-law is going to Afghanistan soon, and my sister will take care of their three very little ones by herself.  So the whole fathers-coming-home thing really tugs at my heart strings for many reasons right now.  I really do wish that Margaret Wise Brown had a whole series of books like this, just with different endings, so to include mothers and fathers who are also Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines.