Picture Book: Going Home with Daddy

Going Down Home with Daddy by Daniel Minter and illustrated by Kelly Starling Lyons. Peachtree, April 2019. 32 pages, $17.99, 9781561459384.

    Going Down Home with Daddy shows the importance of family, reunions, and the familial bonds that connect people across the generation. The narrative begins before dawn with Lil’ Alan and his family leaving for Granny’s farm. However, he cannot sleep because he does not know what he will do to pay tribute to his family history. They arrive at the farm his father grew up in, meet his family, and listen to his father’s stories about the lands and his family. Throughout all this, he finally realizes what he will show to celebrate his family during the anniversary celebration. 

    The illustrations, with its acrylic washes, takes on a dreamlike quality. The primary colors are soothing reds, oranges, greens, and yellow. They are used primarily for the land. Blue-black washes dominate familial scenes. Granny’s favorite color is blue, further tying the color to her and her legacy. Lyons also uses color to show the time of the day. Since the story begins before dawn, Lyons primarily uses blues. As the day goes on, greens, oranges, and yellow fill the page. As night and the celebration approaches, blues begin to dominate the page. Finally, the last page occurs in the morning, so the warm colors take over the page. The illustrations are stylized but still celebrate the African-American cultural ties, as seen through the bold patterns on the clothing, animals, cotton head, plants, and landscape. The patterns also reinforce the narrative links to the land and family history. Some of the plants are drawn with white lines, adding layers to the images while referencing the family’s connection to farming. The last page also shows this link. Granny stands on her land, feeding her chickens. She is wearing a gown in a tree and its roots running deep. The family tree will always be connected to the land. Her ancestors lived there and her descendants will return there.

    Children will enjoy learning about how others celebrate their families. They will emphasize the pressure to create something meaningful for the people they love.