PICTURE BOOKS
Yamasaki, Katie

Dad Bakes

(2) K-3 A father wakes before the sun and heads off to work while his daughter sleeps. Alongside other tattooed bakers in hairnets and short sleeves, he starts the day preparing dough. "He scoops. / He kneads. / He rolls." After a morning of baking bread in all different shapes and sizes, the father hangs up his apron and returns home to his now-awake child. The day truly begins for this family of two once Dad has risen from his after-work nap. Now father and daughter can set to work baking their own creation--with plenty of time for play while the dough rests--before the sun sets. The story's text is short and poetic, directing readers' focus to the book's glorious art. Yamasaki's (Everything Naomi Loved, rev. 1/21) paintings create a dreamlike atmosphere throughout, such as in an eye-catching image showing the bakery floating among the clouds as Dad heads out the door and into the bright blue sky. Although never specifically mentioned in the text, an author's note discusses incarceration and its effects on families.

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