A Story About a Father & Son - Sachiko Otohata & Brendyn Zachary - ★★★.¼

AUTHORS: Sachiko Otohata & Brendyn Zachary

GENRE: Picture Book for Adults.

PUBLICATION DATE: May 15, 2024

RATING: 3.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A dual-perspective picture book, with one half written from the father’s point of view and the other from the son’s. Interesting concept and touching content. But I am not sure whom to advocate it to.

The title states that this picture book is a story *about* Father and Son, but the book is also a story *by* a father and a son as it comes in two distinct perspectives. One half of the book tells us the narration from the father’s first-person point of view, talking about how he felt from the time he first held his newborn son in his arms, leading on to his emotions over various milestones in his son’s life, all the way till the son himself becomes a father. The middle page reminds us that “there’s always another point of view.” Thus the story changes over to the son’s perspective, and we see exactly the same incidents from the viewpoint of the son and the emotions he experienced on those occasions.

The intent of the book is great. There are always two sides to every story, and this book is a great way of highlighting how two people may view an incident similarly or differently. It is interesting to see how the father and the son have the same feelings about certain events but totally different reactions to some other incidents. The start and the ending being similar hints at life coming a full circle, as the son is now grown up enough to experience his father’s emotions through his own newborn.

The book has a great mix of funny scenes as well as emotional moments. As the story has no woman in an active role, the prime focus is only on the two male characters. It was nice to see a father being honest about his insecurities and his apprehensions over his son’s reactions, always wondering if he is doing a great job of being a dad. This isn't a lesson about perfect parenting, nor does it offer a glimpse of an ideal father. At the same time, just because the book is about a dad’s love doesn’t mean it shows a helicopter dad over-protecting his child; rather the dad allows the son to learn many things on his own. The relatable nature of the father will help reading dads connect with him strongly.

The story is written in simple text, with not more 2-3 sentences per page. The layout is such that that the pages never appear cluttered.

The illustrations are cute, hand-drawn and then inked in a water-colour style that lends fluidity to the graphics. I could have done without the bright rouged cheeks, but the rest of the art looks great.

So it is mostly a positive experience to read this book. The only point about which I am stumped is: whom is it aimed at? Though a picture book, it is certainly not for kids as both the stories are in the past tense and the boy is already a grown-up man by the time each perspective ends. I can only presume that it is for adults, or to be specific, for a new/young father. So it might make a good gift from a father to his adult son when the son is about to step into the new phase of his life through parenthood, or for special occasions such as Father’s Day. The only thing is: the cover and the title don’t indicate this idea anywhere. Perhaps some direct indication on the cover art would help clarify the book’s intent to potential buyers. 

I must add that Amazon has listed this as a book for 4 to 8 year olds, but I honestly don’t see this appealing to that age group as this doesn’t work that well as a bedtime story or a general children’s book, at least in my opinion. The only way in which it could work for kids is in understanding how parents might feel differently from them about some issues, and that parents also feel insecure. But this will work only up to the part where the son in the story is young. Little kids might not relate to the leaving-home-for-college and dating and marriage parts.

All in all, definitely a nice and sweet indie picture book full of beautiful emotions, but one that will emotionally impact adults (parents/grandparents/guardians) far more than children.

3.25 stars. (2.5 stars as a kids’ book, 4 stars as a book for dads. Averaged.)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via the Library Thing Early Reviewers Program. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.