Every Friday

Yaccarino, Dan. 2007. EVERY FRIDAY. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0805077243 [Suggested Grade Levels PreK-2]

REVIEW
From Dan Yaccarino’s prefatory note, we know that this picture book celebrates the special ritual he and his young son observed “every Friday”: eating at the corner diner. By telling it from his son’s point of view, he makes this a story about bonding without sentimentalizing it. Yaccarino’s cartoon-influenced style and slightly retro stylings (men wear suits or uniforms and hats; women wear dresses or pedal-pushers; and dig that beatnik with the bongo in front of the sporting goods window!) create a timeless feel. This could as easily be the story of the author and his father instead of his son—and very well might be.

The strong parental bond depicted in EVERY FRIDAY is reassuring. It allows the young boy the freedom to be excited by all the small wonders of his urban landscape—people-watching, progress at a construction site, ordering his own pancakes at the familiar diner. Yaccarino has created a tempting challenge for all families to make time to be together on a regular basis.

CONNECTIONS
Ask participants to discuss their own family rituals. Do they have anything in their family that happens weekly? What special holiday rituals do their families observe?

RELATED BOOKS
Other books about by Dan Yaccarino:
Yaccarino, Dan. THE BIRTHDAY FISH. ISBN 978-0805074932
Yaccarino, Dan. GOOD NIGHT, MR. NIGHT. ISBN 078680579X
Yaccarino, Dan. OSWALD. ISBN 068984252X


By Julie Brinker