In Daniel C. Davis’s A FATHER’S PRESENCE, a boy named Curtis takes the disconnect he feels from his father and transforms it into positivity and connection with his own son. Though his father is physically present, he shows little enthusiasm for Curtis’s interests and struggles to talk about his feelings. Rather than placing blame, the book shares Curtis’s father’s backstory with empathy and understanding. Demonstrating how he lacked the framework to be a present father since his own father was never home, the book eloquently states that he carried “the weight of that absence like a heavy backpack.” When Curtis opens up to his basketball coach, who suggests practicing deep listening, Curtis learns to seek help in others to grow rather than accepting his fate of being like his father. The book’s message that generational trauma doesn’t have to be forever is noble, though teens and adults may benefit from the lessons more than young children.

The book shines when scenes offer specificity, as during Curtis’s conversation with his coach and when he sees a TV-dad talking to his son about fearing school. For much of the book, however, scenes are vague and lofty language dominates. That Curtis “built strong friendships with men who shared his values” and “encouraged each other to work hard, respect others, and lead with love” loses its poignancy without seeing specific instances of Curtis acting on those values in the narrative. Vague statements like “being present and teaching love could change everything” and “Curtis’s son carried the promise of a new beginning” require more solid evidence to achieve their goal of inspiring youth. Some awkward sentence structures confuse meaning, including when Curtis and his young son are “teaching each other” to ride a bike and express their feelings.

The motif of family photographs symbolizing relationships unites the narrative, offering a physical representation of family history. Illustrations depicting photos of the generations of Curtis’s family drive this point home elegantly. Some oddities in the illustrations hint at use of AI, such as the blurring of fingers, grass growing on roads and sidewalks, and a scene where a group of men are playing a card game (with one holding their cards backwards). Disproportionate heads and limbs elicit an uncanny valley effect. Otherwise, the images are well-rendered, with the sepia-toned color scheme giving a vintage feel to the photos of Curtis’s father and his family. The bright smiles and vibrant colors of later images mirror the shift in tone to grateful and optimistic.

With a vintage style that emphasizes the weight of generational trauma, Daniel C. Davis’s A FATHER’S PRESENCE is a nebulous but optimistic and touching picture book—even if its message is more appropriate for teens and adults.

~ Aimee Jodoin for IndieReader