Jay Jay Patton lives in a suburban household with her mother and baby sibling. She is an earnest student whom we see writing a letter to her dad, thriving in math class, and enjoying her after school dance program. Then over dinner one night her mother shares the news that her dad is finally coming home.
The subsequent chapter flashes back to Jay Jay’s budding awareness at age five that her dad is not around. Then the story flashes forward to the present and Jay Jay’s reunification with her father and the changes the family must make now that he’s home.
Markia Jenai’s serviceable illustrations convey Jay Jay’s diverse emotions which any middle school child of an incarcerated parent might feel. There is an element of surprise at the end of the story and rich evidence provided in the back matter to illustrate and substantiate the happy ending.
Middle school readers with an incarcerated parent may find heretofore unavailable emotional comfort from a story like their own represented in a graphic format. All readers can gain something from Jay Jay’s beautiful story and learning from her memoir. Highly recommended for all school libraries serving middle-school aged youth, this book was recently highlighted by the In the Margins Book Award.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber
Patton, Jay Jay. Dear Dad: Growing Up With A Parent In Prison and How We Stayed Connected. New York: Scholastic Graphix, 2024.