Grown-Ups
Book Review: Monday Is One Day by Arthur A. Levine
Sometimes the work week can seem to drag on forever. Monday Is One Day, though, doesn’t dwell on that unpleasant feeling but focuses instead on the simple moments parents and kids share each day of the week.
Starting with Monday, the story races through the days of the week and the lives of six diverse families. Though the parents and children spend much of every weekday apart, they don’t let that stop them from making the most of each second they have together—as they share a bowl of oatmeal at breakfast, a hug at the bus stop, or a splash in a puddle. But many families will recognize the sense of anticipation that builds as the weekend (and the end of the story) approaches.
Among the other families—single mom, single dad, grandpa and grandma, mom and dad—is a two-dad family with a little boy. Their part in the story is no more or less than the other families’ parts. On Friday, the son helps one of his dads pick out a tie before going to work. On the weekend, they sit with the other families on a hill, watching the sun set over their charming, primary-colored city.
Meant to be read by a young child, this book will provide him or her reassurance that “the hardest part of going to work is being apart from you.” One of the sweetest things about the book is the story behind the story: it was written by a dad contemplating how much he would miss his infant son when he went back to work. The genuine feeling behind it definitely shows.
Monday Is One Day is available at Amazon.com. Illustrations are by Julian Hector.
Author
Assistant Kids section editor Hannah Crawford graduated from Carleton College with a major in English and a concentration in Latin American Studies. Apart from reading, her great love is theater, which is one of the many reasons she is very excited to have recently moved to Minneapolis.
