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Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Picture Books (2014)Every morning, I play a game with my father.
He goes knock knock on my door and I pretend to be asleep till he gets right next to the bed.
And my papa, he tells me, "I love you."
But what happens when, one day, that "knock knock" doesn't come? This powerful and inspiring book shows the love that an absent parent can leave behind, and the strength that children find in themselves as they grow up and follow their dreams.
He goes knock knock on my door and I pretend to be asleep till he gets right next to the bed.
And my papa, he tells me, "I love you."
But what happens when, one day, that "knock knock" doesn't come? This powerful and inspiring book shows the love that an absent parent can leave behind, and the strength that children find in themselves as they grow up and follow their dreams.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2013
23 people are currently reading
1,578 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Beaty
8 books7 followersDaniel Koa Beaty is a visionary actor, singer, writer, and social entrepreneur who lives at the intersection of art, spirit, and social change. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, Daniel grew up the child of a heroin addicted, incarcerated father, and younger sibling to a brother addicted to crack cocaine. Daniel learned early on that the arts can help heal childhood trauma, transform pain into power, and inspire a new generation of change makers to dismantle the systemic racism and oppression at the core of the challenges Daniel, his father, brother, and so many Americans face.
Daniel Koa Beaty has spent his life telling stories that share both the truth of who we are as people and his hope for a better world. He believes these stories have the power to move us and inspire us, as individuals and as a society, to transform ourselves and the world: to confront our pain, imagine a better world, and work together to achieve it. Daniel has developed an awarding winning body of work that includes his plays Through the Night, Emergency, Mr. Joy, and The Tallest Tree in the Forest – Paul Robeson. These works have been performed at venues ranging from maximum security prisons to The Public Theater, Lincoln Center and White House. He has garnered numerous awards including an Obie award for writing and performance and five NAACP Theater Awards. A highly requested performer and keynote speaker, Daniel has worked throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa. In these turbulent times of social change facing the nation, Daniel has continued to develop work that confronts, heals and nurtures us all.
Daniel Koa Beaty has spent his life telling stories that share both the truth of who we are as people and his hope for a better world. He believes these stories have the power to move us and inspire us, as individuals and as a society, to transform ourselves and the world: to confront our pain, imagine a better world, and work together to achieve it. Daniel has developed an awarding winning body of work that includes his plays Through the Night, Emergency, Mr. Joy, and The Tallest Tree in the Forest – Paul Robeson. These works have been performed at venues ranging from maximum security prisons to The Public Theater, Lincoln Center and White House. He has garnered numerous awards including an Obie award for writing and performance and five NAACP Theater Awards. A highly requested performer and keynote speaker, Daniel has worked throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa. In these turbulent times of social change facing the nation, Daniel has continued to develop work that confronts, heals and nurtures us all.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 583 reviews
October 9, 2013
There is a perception out there amongst certain types of parents that the only picture books worthy of their little geniuses are those that reflect their own lives perfectly. I’ve complained about this before but there is nothing more disturbing to me than when a children’s librarian shows a parent a perfectly lovely book only to be asked, “Do you have anything a little less . . . urban?” And this in the heart of New York City no less. Of course we all know what “urban” is code for. Black, obviously (if I'm feeling snarky I’ll then follow up their request with Precious and the Boo Hag or something equally black AND rural). The ideal use of picture books, on some level, is to provide windows and mirrors for the kiddos. Mirrors that reflect their own worlds. Windows where they can see how other children live. So while Daniel Beaty’s Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me is ostensibly about a child with an incarcerated father, to my mind this is a book that has far reaching applications. It can be used with any child missing a parent, for whatever reason. It’s one of the very few picture books to talk about the process of growing into adulthood. And the art? Stellar stuff. So though I’m sure kids that find themselves exactly in the protagonist’s shoes will get something out of this book, they are not the only ones. Not by half.
It was the same every morning. The boy would pretend to be sleeping when his father went “Knock Knock” on the door. Then he’d “surprise” his father by leaping into his arms once he came in the room. That is, until the day his father didn’t knock anymore. The man is simply gone, poof! Like he was never there at all. Bewildered and lost, the boy writes his father a letter and leaves it on his desk in the desperate hope that maybe his dad’s in the apartment when the boy’s not home. He tells his dad that he was hoping that when he got older he’d teach him how to dribble a ball or shave or drive or fix a car even. Then, one day, there’s a letter from his father sitting on the desk. “I am sorry I will not be coming home,” it begins. It then proceeds to encourage the boy to seek his own path and grow to manhood without him. “Knock Knock with the knowledge that you are my son and you have a bright, beautiful future.” Years later when the boy has grown, his father returns to him. In his Author’s Note, Daniel Beaty discusses the effect his own father’s incarceration had on him when he was only three. As he puts it, “This experience prompted me to tell the story of this loss from a child’s perspective and also to offer hope that every fatherless child can still create the most beautiful life possible.”
As you might imagine, I vetted this one with some of my fellow children’s librarians and one concern that arose stemmed from the fact that the boy isn’t told what happened to his father. One day he’s there and the next he’s gone. Shouldn’t a kid be told? To this I have a couple answers. First and foremost, remember that you are getting this tale through the eyes of a child. For that very reason, you have reason to question the narrative. It is all too easy to believe that the kid has been told where his father is and he simply cannot process the information. This might be one of those rare picture book unreliable narrators we come across from time to time. Second, if the kid isn’t willfully ignoring the evidence at hand, it’s just as possible that his mother isn’t telling him. Whether it’s for what she believes to be his own good or because she can’t bring herself to explain, there’s a reality at work here.
But the explanation that rings truest to me is this; If the boy doesn’t know then it opens wide the possible applications of this book. The key to Knock Knock lies in the fact that Beaty’s tale is about an absent parent and not necessarily an incarcerated one. Lots of kids have one parent or another disappear on them. What Knock Knock is telling us is that even if they’re not there, you can grow up and become the man or woman you were meant to be. Now, obviously the book is primarily about incarcerated parents. The ending shows the boy, now grown into a man, hugging his father for the first time in years. Unless we’re going full on metaphorical here, that image is pretty clear. Nonetheless, I like to think that the book has a broader appeal than that. It’s not as if the word “jail” or “arrested” are ever in the text, and the images never follow the father but keep the focus squarely on the kid. As is right.
The art is the real kicker, of course. Not since Uptown has Collier lavished this much time and attention on the appearance and feel of Harlem. I should know. I live in it. From the Duke Ellington statue on the corner of 5th Avenue and 110th Street to brownstones and housing projects, Collier knows of which he speaks. Then there’s how he chose to bring Beaty’s words to life. According to Collier, he took a real interest in this text when he saw Beaty perform it in a monologue. In this book he then tries to capture the spirit of the performance. For example, he explains in his Illustrator’s Note at the end of the book that the watercolor and collage art affects the boy’s surroundings. “The sky in the art is not so blue”, a fact I’d completely missed. It’s true, though. You wouldn’t necessarily notice at first, but the dulled blue contrasts sharply with the vivid aquamarine on the last page.
To my mind, the eeriest image in the book is a two-page spread that shows the boy seemingly flying on the paper airplane message he’s trying to send to his dad. As his father’s oversized hat flies from his head you see below the fading faces of other children on the tarred roofs below. Their images are sometimes clear, sometimes eerily faint, like they’re memories being erased by time. There are also a fair number of elephants. The elephants are an interesting touch. I’m not entirely certain what to make of them. They trundle along the boy’s bedroom walls, then occasionally break free and appear in his memories, walking across the brownstones, partially obscuring a man’s face hidden behind the windows.
Impressive though the art may be, there are moments in the book that seemed better than others. Faces and features vary, sometimes striking the reader as affecting while at other times they take you out of the book entirely. The aforementioned shot of the boy flying in a paper airplane while his father’s hat drifts towards the faces of other children on the roofs below is a bit unnerving if only because the roof faces are so much more affecting than the boy himself. When done straight on, as on the page that reads, “I am sorry I will not be coming home” the results are much stronger. And that’s even before you notice that the boy has draped his father’s ties around his neck (and did you notice that as a man the boy continues to wear those ties?).
Here’s what might be my favorite line in the book: “Papa, come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” Kids everywhere grow up without fathers and a single book isn’t going to necessarily change their lives. But maybe, just maybe, it really will touch somebody in the right way. When Bryan Collier writes in his Note that “This book is not just about loss, but about hope, making healthy choices, and not letting our past define our future,” he’s talking to kids everywhere that are dealing with a deck that’s stacked against them. They don’t get enough books, those kids, about lives like their own. Fortunately, once in a great while, a book comes along that fulfills that gaping need. This year, it’s this book. Next year? Who knows? But as long as there are children struggling along without their parents, Knock Knock is going to have a job to do.
For ages 4-8.
It was the same every morning. The boy would pretend to be sleeping when his father went “Knock Knock” on the door. Then he’d “surprise” his father by leaping into his arms once he came in the room. That is, until the day his father didn’t knock anymore. The man is simply gone, poof! Like he was never there at all. Bewildered and lost, the boy writes his father a letter and leaves it on his desk in the desperate hope that maybe his dad’s in the apartment when the boy’s not home. He tells his dad that he was hoping that when he got older he’d teach him how to dribble a ball or shave or drive or fix a car even. Then, one day, there’s a letter from his father sitting on the desk. “I am sorry I will not be coming home,” it begins. It then proceeds to encourage the boy to seek his own path and grow to manhood without him. “Knock Knock with the knowledge that you are my son and you have a bright, beautiful future.” Years later when the boy has grown, his father returns to him. In his Author’s Note, Daniel Beaty discusses the effect his own father’s incarceration had on him when he was only three. As he puts it, “This experience prompted me to tell the story of this loss from a child’s perspective and also to offer hope that every fatherless child can still create the most beautiful life possible.”
As you might imagine, I vetted this one with some of my fellow children’s librarians and one concern that arose stemmed from the fact that the boy isn’t told what happened to his father. One day he’s there and the next he’s gone. Shouldn’t a kid be told? To this I have a couple answers. First and foremost, remember that you are getting this tale through the eyes of a child. For that very reason, you have reason to question the narrative. It is all too easy to believe that the kid has been told where his father is and he simply cannot process the information. This might be one of those rare picture book unreliable narrators we come across from time to time. Second, if the kid isn’t willfully ignoring the evidence at hand, it’s just as possible that his mother isn’t telling him. Whether it’s for what she believes to be his own good or because she can’t bring herself to explain, there’s a reality at work here.
But the explanation that rings truest to me is this; If the boy doesn’t know then it opens wide the possible applications of this book. The key to Knock Knock lies in the fact that Beaty’s tale is about an absent parent and not necessarily an incarcerated one. Lots of kids have one parent or another disappear on them. What Knock Knock is telling us is that even if they’re not there, you can grow up and become the man or woman you were meant to be. Now, obviously the book is primarily about incarcerated parents. The ending shows the boy, now grown into a man, hugging his father for the first time in years. Unless we’re going full on metaphorical here, that image is pretty clear. Nonetheless, I like to think that the book has a broader appeal than that. It’s not as if the word “jail” or “arrested” are ever in the text, and the images never follow the father but keep the focus squarely on the kid. As is right.
The art is the real kicker, of course. Not since Uptown has Collier lavished this much time and attention on the appearance and feel of Harlem. I should know. I live in it. From the Duke Ellington statue on the corner of 5th Avenue and 110th Street to brownstones and housing projects, Collier knows of which he speaks. Then there’s how he chose to bring Beaty’s words to life. According to Collier, he took a real interest in this text when he saw Beaty perform it in a monologue. In this book he then tries to capture the spirit of the performance. For example, he explains in his Illustrator’s Note at the end of the book that the watercolor and collage art affects the boy’s surroundings. “The sky in the art is not so blue”, a fact I’d completely missed. It’s true, though. You wouldn’t necessarily notice at first, but the dulled blue contrasts sharply with the vivid aquamarine on the last page.
To my mind, the eeriest image in the book is a two-page spread that shows the boy seemingly flying on the paper airplane message he’s trying to send to his dad. As his father’s oversized hat flies from his head you see below the fading faces of other children on the tarred roofs below. Their images are sometimes clear, sometimes eerily faint, like they’re memories being erased by time. There are also a fair number of elephants. The elephants are an interesting touch. I’m not entirely certain what to make of them. They trundle along the boy’s bedroom walls, then occasionally break free and appear in his memories, walking across the brownstones, partially obscuring a man’s face hidden behind the windows.
Impressive though the art may be, there are moments in the book that seemed better than others. Faces and features vary, sometimes striking the reader as affecting while at other times they take you out of the book entirely. The aforementioned shot of the boy flying in a paper airplane while his father’s hat drifts towards the faces of other children on the roofs below is a bit unnerving if only because the roof faces are so much more affecting than the boy himself. When done straight on, as on the page that reads, “I am sorry I will not be coming home” the results are much stronger. And that’s even before you notice that the boy has draped his father’s ties around his neck (and did you notice that as a man the boy continues to wear those ties?).
Here’s what might be my favorite line in the book: “Papa, come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” Kids everywhere grow up without fathers and a single book isn’t going to necessarily change their lives. But maybe, just maybe, it really will touch somebody in the right way. When Bryan Collier writes in his Note that “This book is not just about loss, but about hope, making healthy choices, and not letting our past define our future,” he’s talking to kids everywhere that are dealing with a deck that’s stacked against them. They don’t get enough books, those kids, about lives like their own. Fortunately, once in a great while, a book comes along that fulfills that gaping need. This year, it’s this book. Next year? Who knows? But as long as there are children struggling along without their parents, Knock Knock is going to have a job to do.
For ages 4-8.
February 16, 2016
This really knocked me out! Brilliant! Hardly a page but it conveys a world of true emotions...
January 22, 2014
A book to have in the tool kit for every teacher, social worker, and psychologist has been written by Daniel Beatty and Brian Collier called, "Knock, Knock." I cannot speak highly enough about it. I believe that one of the hardest topics to discuss with children is loss because it hurts to even think about, let alone experience it and talk about it to kids with their tough questions.
It starts out with a little boy speaking of a game that he plays with his father. His dad appears to be the one who gets him ready for school every morning and they play a game where his dad knocks on his door and the son pretends to be asleep until his dad gets closer and closer and then the little boy jumps into his arms and they tell each other that they love one another. The story shows us how close they are, until one day, his dad isn't there anymore. The little boy is sad, and then after many sad mornings, he writes his father a letter and put it out. One day the letter is answered by his father.
The story is heavy, and I went from wondering why his dad left him to getting to the end and realizing that it didn't matter. Of course I did find out because in the author's bio at the end, we realize that Daniel Beatty's dad took care of him and got him ready for school and was later incarcerated. Daniel went to see his father at the prison and had a traumatic encounter with his dad and the glass that separated them. He has become an educator, and wrote this book. Brian Collier explained that he saw the poem performed and was inspired to illustrate it.
It is hard to sell this book because in the six months that I have been working at my bookstore, I have had only two people ask me for books on loss. Since reading it, I have told customers who I think are teachers, social workers, lawyers, and psychologists about it. I want to get the word out about this book. This is listed at certain "book hubs" as being in an "African American" category, but it isn't a Black issue, as loss knows no boundaries. I will be buying this for my own personal children's book collection, and I hope that others who are in helping professions buy a few copies and keep them where they know they will find them when they need them.You can order this from many places, but I urge everyone to shop first from their locally owned, independent book store.
It starts out with a little boy speaking of a game that he plays with his father. His dad appears to be the one who gets him ready for school every morning and they play a game where his dad knocks on his door and the son pretends to be asleep until his dad gets closer and closer and then the little boy jumps into his arms and they tell each other that they love one another. The story shows us how close they are, until one day, his dad isn't there anymore. The little boy is sad, and then after many sad mornings, he writes his father a letter and put it out. One day the letter is answered by his father.
The story is heavy, and I went from wondering why his dad left him to getting to the end and realizing that it didn't matter. Of course I did find out because in the author's bio at the end, we realize that Daniel Beatty's dad took care of him and got him ready for school and was later incarcerated. Daniel went to see his father at the prison and had a traumatic encounter with his dad and the glass that separated them. He has become an educator, and wrote this book. Brian Collier explained that he saw the poem performed and was inspired to illustrate it.
It is hard to sell this book because in the six months that I have been working at my bookstore, I have had only two people ask me for books on loss. Since reading it, I have told customers who I think are teachers, social workers, lawyers, and psychologists about it. I want to get the word out about this book. This is listed at certain "book hubs" as being in an "African American" category, but it isn't a Black issue, as loss knows no boundaries. I will be buying this for my own personal children's book collection, and I hope that others who are in helping professions buy a few copies and keep them where they know they will find them when they need them.You can order this from many places, but I urge everyone to shop first from their locally owned, independent book store.
June 1, 2016
This story...there aren't words to describe how important this story is and how it can aide young children in coping with the loss of a parent due to death, divorce, or incarceration. It was beautifully written and illustrated and dealt thoughtfully with such a difficult topic. I definitely could have used a story like this when I was longer since I lost my dad to divorce. I moved to a completely different state and wasn't able to see him. It took a long time for me to come to terms with that and it some ways I'm still learning.
March 24, 2015
Can't go wrong with Bryan Collier's illustrations. And the story -- oh my. At first, my grown-up self wanted to know what happened to the boy's dad. But then I asked my kids what they thought happened, and they both had different ideas, and both ideas were different from the ones I had. Leaving it open-ended didn't bother them at all, and it encourages the reader to find connections and think about possibilities.
May 27, 2014
Knock Knock My Dad's Dream for Me, written by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier moved me to tears. What an amazing heartfelt story about how a boy and his father played a game "Knock Knock" each morning until he was three. The father would enter his sons room. The child would pretend to still be asleep until his dad was standing right next to his bed. Then the child would leap into his fathers arms. One morning, his father's knock never comes. Day after day, the child waits for his father to return but he never does. He never comes to help his child get ready for school, nor does he ever come to cook his favorite scrambled eggs. He thinks maybe his dad comes while he is gone to school and decides to write his father a letter and leave it for him to find. This book touches on the topic of loss which can extremely difficult for a child to understand. The story itself does not go into details about the child's father being incarcerated. you'll learn more about this by reading the author's note.
Bryan Collier's illustrations throughout the story is as equally heart moving as the words that all readers can relate too either directly or indirectly. My favorite photo without doubt is the one where the child is pictured in the mirror now as a man, shaving. Definitely a tear jerker. I can feel the young boys pain in the picture where he's walking across the room and looks at his father's hat just laying there. Knowing the child much rather see the hat sitting on his father's head.
This is a must have book for all that work with children. I give this book and illustrations five stars. This book would have been worthy of the Caldecott Medal. Truly surprised it did not win it.
Bryan Collier's illustrations throughout the story is as equally heart moving as the words that all readers can relate too either directly or indirectly. My favorite photo without doubt is the one where the child is pictured in the mirror now as a man, shaving. Definitely a tear jerker. I can feel the young boys pain in the picture where he's walking across the room and looks at his father's hat just laying there. Knowing the child much rather see the hat sitting on his father's head.
This is a must have book for all that work with children. I give this book and illustrations five stars. This book would have been worthy of the Caldecott Medal. Truly surprised it did not win it.
February 8, 2018
This is an illustrated children’s book that is truly moving and profound to the point where I was in tears. Thankfully I had already got home with it from the library and wasn’t standing in the children’s section sobbing. I do that in a different section. And thankfully I read it to myself before my kids cause I don’t think I could’ve gotten through this. Great book
June 16, 2014
It is not unusual enough for me to laugh loud enough to draw attention when reading picture books in public spaces. It is a rare moment for a picture book to draw a tear, even in private. Kate DiCamillo’s The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is one that slays me every time. Seated with a stack of picture books in the studiously quiet adult section of the library, I was tearing up and sniffled beneath a few casual stares.
I was first moved by the tender ritual between father and son. The heartstrings tightened to breaking when the boy wakes to find his father no longer there. It is a slow waking. A dawning is not fully realized until the end of the book when the boy has grown into a man with a family of his own, “For despite my absence you are still here.”
Why or where the father has gone is left without explanation. There are any number of reasons, nevertheless the little boy is left to deal with the reality of the absence and unrequited desires: “Papa, come home, ‘cause there are things I don’t know, and when I got older I thought you could teach me.”
Like A Snowy Day (Keats) and Bird (Elliott) we see a boy sitting by the window looking out from the inside. We are there with him as he sends a paper airplane letter into flight.
The text is powerful on its own, the father’s letter is touching, and the son’s maturity aggrieved but inspiring as he comes to take on the dreaming for himself. But the images do more than hold their own. They have the kind of narrative complexity I usually anticipate with graphic novels. Everything about them moves to strengthen the evocation of the written narrative.
Collier’s photo collage and water color, the inclusion of textures and patterns–a life made up of clippings–gives the images layers, depth, the concrete complications of reality. Not only are the boy and his settings tangible, but the emotional conflicts as well. The most easily read is the rainbow on the wall that falls. I love the border of marching elephants, memory in a line on a bedroom wall, large in composition. The construction trucks crash together in the hands of a troubled boy. Instead of constructing something they become destructive. As the young boy grows, the childhood interest in construction, in building things, returns in a positive aspect for the man he would become.
Buildings figure in as the story expands from a room to a kitchen to the neighborhood and we see the photographic images of children’s faces on tenement rooftops, and then street level the fading of a father’s visage. This is when the boy tells his absent father: “I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” We witness the juxtaposition and, indeed, the conflation of the forgotten and the forgetting. He is left imagining what it would be like to be a grown man, a husband, a father. Fortunately, the imagination proves able. He dreams and grows into an image of wholeness, of achievement, of being present.
Knock! Knock! is not one to only be especially selected for a reader’s situation. The narrative, the gorgeous visual storytelling, this is a book that should belong to everyone. If you can only own it for a little while (thank you public libraries) please do.
of note: I really really love that cover. It was appealing before the read, but so much more deeply felt afterward.
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
I was first moved by the tender ritual between father and son. The heartstrings tightened to breaking when the boy wakes to find his father no longer there. It is a slow waking. A dawning is not fully realized until the end of the book when the boy has grown into a man with a family of his own, “For despite my absence you are still here.”
Why or where the father has gone is left without explanation. There are any number of reasons, nevertheless the little boy is left to deal with the reality of the absence and unrequited desires: “Papa, come home, ‘cause there are things I don’t know, and when I got older I thought you could teach me.”
Like A Snowy Day (Keats) and Bird (Elliott) we see a boy sitting by the window looking out from the inside. We are there with him as he sends a paper airplane letter into flight.
The text is powerful on its own, the father’s letter is touching, and the son’s maturity aggrieved but inspiring as he comes to take on the dreaming for himself. But the images do more than hold their own. They have the kind of narrative complexity I usually anticipate with graphic novels. Everything about them moves to strengthen the evocation of the written narrative.
Collier’s photo collage and water color, the inclusion of textures and patterns–a life made up of clippings–gives the images layers, depth, the concrete complications of reality. Not only are the boy and his settings tangible, but the emotional conflicts as well. The most easily read is the rainbow on the wall that falls. I love the border of marching elephants, memory in a line on a bedroom wall, large in composition. The construction trucks crash together in the hands of a troubled boy. Instead of constructing something they become destructive. As the young boy grows, the childhood interest in construction, in building things, returns in a positive aspect for the man he would become.
Buildings figure in as the story expands from a room to a kitchen to the neighborhood and we see the photographic images of children’s faces on tenement rooftops, and then street level the fading of a father’s visage. This is when the boy tells his absent father: “I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” We witness the juxtaposition and, indeed, the conflation of the forgotten and the forgetting. He is left imagining what it would be like to be a grown man, a husband, a father. Fortunately, the imagination proves able. He dreams and grows into an image of wholeness, of achievement, of being present.
Knock! Knock! is not one to only be especially selected for a reader’s situation. The narrative, the gorgeous visual storytelling, this is a book that should belong to everyone. If you can only own it for a little while (thank you public libraries) please do.
of note: I really really love that cover. It was appealing before the read, but so much more deeply felt afterward.
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
May 12, 2020
Heartbreaking story about a boy whose father gets incarcerated and can no longer be there for him.
Read
June 21, 2016"Knock Knock" written by Daniel Beaty Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Text to Self Connection
Definition- Text-to-self connections are highly personal connections that a reader makes between a piece of reading material and the reader's own experiences or life.
Connection 1- Page 2
“Every morning I play a game with my father”, this connects to me because as a child by father used to wake me up every morning before he went to work. He would wake me up by knocking on the door, and then coming in and tickling me, until I woke up. He worked a lot of crazy hours, so it was something I looked forward to on the weekends.
Connection 2- Page 18
“Papa, come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” Although in the book he is talking to his dad, that is in prison, my connection is with my grandma passing. When my grandma passed away, I wanted her to come home so badly. I always wanted to be just like her, and I was worried that I would forget things about her. I have now accepted the fact that although she is not home, she is still with us, and is watching over us. I can still be just like her, and although I may have forgotten some things about her, there is always family there to help remind me about her.
Text to Self Connection
Definition- Text-to-self connections are highly personal connections that a reader makes between a piece of reading material and the reader's own experiences or life.
Connection 1- Page 2
“Every morning I play a game with my father”, this connects to me because as a child by father used to wake me up every morning before he went to work. He would wake me up by knocking on the door, and then coming in and tickling me, until I woke up. He worked a lot of crazy hours, so it was something I looked forward to on the weekends.
Connection 2- Page 18
“Papa, come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.” Although in the book he is talking to his dad, that is in prison, my connection is with my grandma passing. When my grandma passed away, I wanted her to come home so badly. I always wanted to be just like her, and I was worried that I would forget things about her. I have now accepted the fact that although she is not home, she is still with us, and is watching over us. I can still be just like her, and although I may have forgotten some things about her, there is always family there to help remind me about her.
September 28, 2018
Text: 2 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars
While I realize this is realistic fiction, I still find this story overwhelmingly sad for a picture book. The advice the boy is given after his father says he is never coming home feels very adult, and not comforting to a child in this situation. Even more disturbing is the fact that no explanation is offered to the boy for his father's abandonment. The author's note explains that the author's own father was incarcerated when he was three; if this is the conclusion readers are supposed to draw (though there is no evidence for it within the story's text), then the father no longer has control over his whereabouts or decisions, a fact that is critical to convey to a child who is likely to conjure alternate explanations in the absence of a real one: "My father no longer loves me. This is my fault. I wasn't good enough..."
The lack of explanation is probably supposed to make this book more universal. But my father died, my parents are going through an ugly divorce, and my father is incarcerated are all very different realities, though all result in an absent parent, and all require different treatment. Lack of information is often more damaging than the truth.
Illustrations: 4 stars
While I realize this is realistic fiction, I still find this story overwhelmingly sad for a picture book. The advice the boy is given after his father says he is never coming home feels very adult, and not comforting to a child in this situation. Even more disturbing is the fact that no explanation is offered to the boy for his father's abandonment. The author's note explains that the author's own father was incarcerated when he was three; if this is the conclusion readers are supposed to draw (though there is no evidence for it within the story's text), then the father no longer has control over his whereabouts or decisions, a fact that is critical to convey to a child who is likely to conjure alternate explanations in the absence of a real one: "My father no longer loves me. This is my fault. I wasn't good enough..."
The lack of explanation is probably supposed to make this book more universal. But my father died, my parents are going through an ugly divorce, and my father is incarcerated are all very different realities, though all result in an absent parent, and all require different treatment. Lack of information is often more damaging than the truth.
February 19, 2014
A heartbreaking story of the void created in a child's life with the loss of his father and his struggle towards manhood and to fulfill his father's dream. Collier's beautiful and powerful illustrations almost take over the story. If the story doesn't have you in tears the Author's Note will.
June 14, 2014
Every morning, a young boy waits for his father to go KNOCK KNOCK on his bedroom door. The boy pretends to be asleep and then jumps into his father’s arms when the dad comes up to his bed. But one day Papa stops coming, “and morning after morning he never comes.”
The boy misses his father terribly, and writes him a letter telling him all the things he misses. He is especially worried that his father won’t be there to teach him what he needs to know to be a man. “Papa,” he says, “come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.’”
One day the boy comes home from school to find a tie from his father and a letter. His dad says he is sorry he will not be coming home, but leaves him some lessons:
"No longer will I be there to knock on your door,
so you must learn to knock for yourself.
KNOCK KNOCK down the doors that I could not.
KNOCK KNOCK to open new doors to your dreams.
KNOCK KNOCK for me,
for as long as you become your best,
the best of me still lives in you.”
By the end of the book, the boy is grown, and we can see that his father is still with him, on the inside.
Sobbing yet?
Illustrator Bryan Collier is outstanding as usual in depicting emotions in his faces and in his ability to confer a sense of place. I loved his use of the dad’s tie throughout the book to show graphically the way in which the dad stayed with the boy throughout his life. Using watercolor and collage, Collier brings Harlem to life, and conveys love in every one of his panels. Particularly effective is the picture that shows the smaller versions of the boy inside the grown-up man, putting on his tie.
Discussion: At the end of the book, an Author’s Note explains that Beaty’s father was originally his principal caregiver, and they played the Knock Knock game every morning. But his dad was incarcerated when the author was three. As he grew up and became an educator, he decided he wanted to address the pain created by the separation from the child’s point of view. He also performs this story as a monologue.
Evaluation: This book loses some of its punch because of the ambiguity of what happens to the father. It seems as if the author wanted to account for any type of loss, whether through divorce, death, or incarceration, but in so doing, added a bit of confusion to the story. Nevertheless, it is memorable, heartbreaking, and uplifting all at once. Each time I read through it, I cried again. I think children, however, will find it reassuring and comforting. Nevertheless, for you adults who read along with the kids, stock up on kleenex.
The boy misses his father terribly, and writes him a letter telling him all the things he misses. He is especially worried that his father won’t be there to teach him what he needs to know to be a man. “Papa,” he says, “come home, ‘cause I want to be just like you, but I’m forgetting who you are.’”
One day the boy comes home from school to find a tie from his father and a letter. His dad says he is sorry he will not be coming home, but leaves him some lessons:
"No longer will I be there to knock on your door,
so you must learn to knock for yourself.
KNOCK KNOCK down the doors that I could not.
KNOCK KNOCK to open new doors to your dreams.
KNOCK KNOCK for me,
for as long as you become your best,
the best of me still lives in you.”
By the end of the book, the boy is grown, and we can see that his father is still with him, on the inside.
Sobbing yet?
Illustrator Bryan Collier is outstanding as usual in depicting emotions in his faces and in his ability to confer a sense of place. I loved his use of the dad’s tie throughout the book to show graphically the way in which the dad stayed with the boy throughout his life. Using watercolor and collage, Collier brings Harlem to life, and conveys love in every one of his panels. Particularly effective is the picture that shows the smaller versions of the boy inside the grown-up man, putting on his tie.
Discussion: At the end of the book, an Author’s Note explains that Beaty’s father was originally his principal caregiver, and they played the Knock Knock game every morning. But his dad was incarcerated when the author was three. As he grew up and became an educator, he decided he wanted to address the pain created by the separation from the child’s point of view. He also performs this story as a monologue.
Evaluation: This book loses some of its punch because of the ambiguity of what happens to the father. It seems as if the author wanted to account for any type of loss, whether through divorce, death, or incarceration, but in so doing, added a bit of confusion to the story. Nevertheless, it is memorable, heartbreaking, and uplifting all at once. Each time I read through it, I cried again. I think children, however, will find it reassuring and comforting. Nevertheless, for you adults who read along with the kids, stock up on kleenex.
December 15, 2017
I read this in my class for a quick project, and wow. It is certainly one of the most powerful things I’ve read this year. Beaty’s narrative is incredible and heartbreaking, but Collier’s illustrations truly take the cake.
The main character’s father disappears one morning, and nobody (read: the narrator nor the reader) knows why. So the boy wonders. And worries. And writes him a letter, to which the father responds. And it’s heartbreaking in the best way.
But it’s Collier’s collages which show just how ingrained a loss like this can be. I remember one doublespread in particular, one that fills me with excitement to discuss and one that just takes my breath away. There are three opaque elephants marching along city streets, nearly as tall as the apartment buildings they’re in front of. But there are three depictions of the father’s face as well–which all get more and more obscured the further towards the recto you look. So what does that mean, to have the animal symbol of never forgetting and the father’s face, obscured? I don’t know, but I LOVE IT. Maybe one day, when I have more time to truly sit down and look at it, a time when I’m not reading it for a project, I’ll be able to decipher the complexity and nuances of this book.
Review cross-listed
The main character’s father disappears one morning, and nobody (read: the narrator nor the reader) knows why. So the boy wonders. And worries. And writes him a letter, to which the father responds. And it’s heartbreaking in the best way.
But it’s Collier’s collages which show just how ingrained a loss like this can be. I remember one doublespread in particular, one that fills me with excitement to discuss and one that just takes my breath away. There are three opaque elephants marching along city streets, nearly as tall as the apartment buildings they’re in front of. But there are three depictions of the father’s face as well–which all get more and more obscured the further towards the recto you look. So what does that mean, to have the animal symbol of never forgetting and the father’s face, obscured? I don’t know, but I LOVE IT. Maybe one day, when I have more time to truly sit down and look at it, a time when I’m not reading it for a project, I’ll be able to decipher the complexity and nuances of this book.
Review cross-listed
January 18, 2018
Knock Knock focuses on the experience of a child whose father is absent because of incarceration. He misses the relationship that they have and focuses on a particular game that they played. The story follows him and his ideas as he grows into a man and has a family of his own. The major theme that runs through his tale is how much the loss of that connection affects his everyday life. It is something that he thinks about and misses even when it is not acutely present.
The art throughout the book has some running themes of clothing belonging to the father, elephants, and paper airplanes. The art style is collage and looks like you could pull pieces off the page if you so wished. An element that particularly stood out to me was the use of touch throughout the book. The child either appeared alone or touching whoever was with him. It provided a spark of hope and love despite what he was lacking.
Overall, I feel like this book was powerful. It is not one I would pull out for every day reading (because it made me cry) but it has its place in the library for understanding what it is like to live with an absent parent or to help a child who is dealing with emotions related to an absent parent. It connected well with the thoughts and feelings of what his experience was like and how someone might relate.
The art throughout the book has some running themes of clothing belonging to the father, elephants, and paper airplanes. The art style is collage and looks like you could pull pieces off the page if you so wished. An element that particularly stood out to me was the use of touch throughout the book. The child either appeared alone or touching whoever was with him. It provided a spark of hope and love despite what he was lacking.
Overall, I feel like this book was powerful. It is not one I would pull out for every day reading (because it made me cry) but it has its place in the library for understanding what it is like to live with an absent parent or to help a child who is dealing with emotions related to an absent parent. It connected well with the thoughts and feelings of what his experience was like and how someone might relate.
December 9, 2014
Each morning, a little boy looks forward to playing the knock-knock game with his father. The boy pretends to be asleep until his dad approaches. One day, though, and for every day after, the boy’s father fails to appear. We as a readers, are told the boys father has gone to jail, but the boy does not know that. He thinks him and his father are just missing each other when they are home. The boy then writes his dad a letter sine he has not seen him in a while and leaves it in his room. They boy comes back and fins that the letter I gone so he believe his dad is still at their house, only just when the boy is not there. However, we as the reader know that the boys mom took the letter to his father in jail and brought back a letter that his father had written to him. the genre and format of this book is a picture book. the reading level of this book is middle level elementary students. students could right about a conflict they have had in their life. the them is family and conflict. i think any gender, race, and socioeconomic status would enjoy this book.
Beaty, D., & Collier, B. (2013). Knock knock: My dad's dream for me.
Beaty, D., & Collier, B. (2013). Knock knock: My dad's dream for me.
December 17, 2013
Incredibly moving, this picture book features a child's perspective on the void of missing parent; a father. The boy and his father share a secret game full of love, but unexpectedly the game comes to end without much in the way of explanation. The boy remains ever faithful and writes his father a letter that sits unread in his room.
When a letter from the boy's father finally arrives, it expresses apology, but focuses much more on hopes and dreams the father has for the boy's future. The boy is encouraged to do and be great things though it is acknowledged that the void created by the absence of the father may never be filled.
Such an important book about a topic I think many kids can relate to. Watercolor and collage artwork so perfectly dials into the range of emotions present in text. The color palette at the beginning of the book is much more joyous than when the days stretch into weeks without the father.
An author's and illustrator's note follow the story. This is a must read for PreK-2+.
When a letter from the boy's father finally arrives, it expresses apology, but focuses much more on hopes and dreams the father has for the boy's future. The boy is encouraged to do and be great things though it is acknowledged that the void created by the absence of the father may never be filled.
Such an important book about a topic I think many kids can relate to. Watercolor and collage artwork so perfectly dials into the range of emotions present in text. The color palette at the beginning of the book is much more joyous than when the days stretch into weeks without the father.
An author's and illustrator's note follow the story. This is a must read for PreK-2+.
February 19, 2014
You can feel how personal this book was for both the author and the artist. It is no wonder that it was a King Illustrator winner. Collier is a masterful artist and deserves a Caldecott one day. Collier actually heard the author perform this book. This can be used for bibliotherapy but will have to be handled in a very tactful way. While it doesn't say why the father went away in the text, the author's afterword makes it clear that his own beloved father was incarcerated when he was very young so he grew up without a father in the house. This could be used for youth with any missing parent, for any reason: death, divorce or any other absence. Ultimately this is a hopeful story showing that it is possible to reach success on your own even without a father in the house. This would be perfect for a parent needing a book to reassure a child that a divorced parent still loved them. As usual, the artwork is simple, powerful and symbolic. Look for the rainbow, then for when it reappears later, upside down. It is very powerful but simple.
September 30, 2016
Story Summary: A young boy and his father have this game in the morning where the father will knock twice on the sons door to wake him up and that is their morning ritual until one morning the father does not come. The boy goes days without seeing his father and he begins to worry about how he will ever learn anything without his father here to teach him. So he writes him a letter and a few days later his dad responds with the advice that he would give him and tells him that he will not be coming home. The boy then takes that letter and makes his father proud.
Grade Level:2-5th
Classroom Use: Read aloud and during any culture month.
Individual Student: Any student who might have a parent not at home.
Small Group: Discuss the time and how the son reacts to his fathers letter. What would they do?
Whole Classroom: How to keep going and learn to be independent and teach that even though your parents aren't with you they are in spirit.
Related Books: Bud not Buddy
Multimedia:Audio book
Award: Corretta Scott King
Grade Level:2-5th
Classroom Use: Read aloud and during any culture month.
Individual Student: Any student who might have a parent not at home.
Small Group: Discuss the time and how the son reacts to his fathers letter. What would they do?
Whole Classroom: How to keep going and learn to be independent and teach that even though your parents aren't with you they are in spirit.
Related Books: Bud not Buddy
Multimedia:Audio book
Award: Corretta Scott King
February 23, 2017
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty. Copyright 2013 Genre: Fiction
Kit Lit: Coretta Scott Kind Award Winning Picture Book
(SPOILER ALERT) This is such a cute book. Knock Knock is about a boy who has this “knock knock” game with his father, until one day it stops and the boy doesn’t know why. Days keep on passing and the father isn’t home so the boy decides to write to the father asking him to come home. Two months pass until he receives a letter from his father saying he would not be back and that he must learn to knock for yourself.
I think this is such a beautiful book and every child should read this. This book has life lessons in it that children should know. It talks about how the boy needs to grow up and learn how to do things on his own and not depend on others. I can definitely relate to this book because growing up my mother would stop doing things for me and would tell me that I would have to learn because that is part of growing up. I definitely recommend this book for other to read and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Kit Lit: Coretta Scott Kind Award Winning Picture Book
(SPOILER ALERT) This is such a cute book. Knock Knock is about a boy who has this “knock knock” game with his father, until one day it stops and the boy doesn’t know why. Days keep on passing and the father isn’t home so the boy decides to write to the father asking him to come home. Two months pass until he receives a letter from his father saying he would not be back and that he must learn to knock for yourself.
I think this is such a beautiful book and every child should read this. This book has life lessons in it that children should know. It talks about how the boy needs to grow up and learn how to do things on his own and not depend on others. I can definitely relate to this book because growing up my mother would stop doing things for me and would tell me that I would have to learn because that is part of growing up. I definitely recommend this book for other to read and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
February 11, 2016
Coretta Scott King Award
A powerful picture book of a young boy affected by the absence of his father. He struggles through day to day activities expecting his father to return and unfortunately learns that overtime he never does.
This beautifully illustrated book created in watercolor and collage sets the tone for a very emotional story of a young boy's journey through life without his father. The illustrator uses a lot of symbolism within the father's hat, and the structure of each page. He carefully shows how struggle between a child's memory and reality. This book would be great for all readers because it lends itself to great discussions about loss, hope, and fearlessness.
I absolutely loved this story. The illustrations had so many hidden messages and definitely pulled you into this young boy's journey through life. Many of my students struggle just like this young boy, and what better way to help them through their fears than to give them hope for the future.
A powerful picture book of a young boy affected by the absence of his father. He struggles through day to day activities expecting his father to return and unfortunately learns that overtime he never does.
This beautifully illustrated book created in watercolor and collage sets the tone for a very emotional story of a young boy's journey through life without his father. The illustrator uses a lot of symbolism within the father's hat, and the structure of each page. He carefully shows how struggle between a child's memory and reality. This book would be great for all readers because it lends itself to great discussions about loss, hope, and fearlessness.
I absolutely loved this story. The illustrations had so many hidden messages and definitely pulled you into this young boy's journey through life. Many of my students struggle just like this young boy, and what better way to help them through their fears than to give them hope for the future.
February 15, 2016
Based on the author’s real life, a young boy wakes every morning to his father knocking at his door-a type of game and special moment between the two. One day, his father does not knock. Days and weeks go by, nothing. Eventually the boy finds out his father has been incarcerated, and will not be returning home. The father soon sends him a letter, telling the son to live his life and make something great of it.
As the son grows he becomes successful and creates a family of his own, but still feels the void of not having his father around. His message is that all of us can grow up to be happy and successful, even if we don’t have all the significant people in our life present. Knock-Knock is beautifully illustrated with a mix of watercolor and collage, emphasizing very real feelings.
This book is so touching and sends a message that everyone can live happily, despite significant loss of a loved one.
As the son grows he becomes successful and creates a family of his own, but still feels the void of not having his father around. His message is that all of us can grow up to be happy and successful, even if we don’t have all the significant people in our life present. Knock-Knock is beautifully illustrated with a mix of watercolor and collage, emphasizing very real feelings.
This book is so touching and sends a message that everyone can live happily, despite significant loss of a loved one.
October 28, 2014
The Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream For me is a realistic fiction. Even though the texts in the book are short, I think it has deep meanings inside. It is about a boy who was taken care of by his father while his mom was working. However, the boy notices that his father is gone one day and never came back. He later finds out his dad was incarcerated. The boy’s father writes a letter to his son about how he should be in the future. For instance, teaching the boy how to shave as he grew older through written words; it is a very touching part. Many students go through difficulties such as loss of a parent from divorce, death, deportation, or incarceration. The book shows children’s view of an effect because of a loss. As future educators, it is our job to be there and support those hopeless students who suffer due to a loss.
November 25, 2014
This beautiful picture book is advertised as suitable for grades preschool through third grade, but truly, this book would be perfectly acceptable in middle school classrooms as well. The content is somewhat heavy, but the text is eloquently written and the heavy content is tastefully presented. This book deals with the issues of an absent parent, and a child's struggle to come to terms with and accept this situation, as well as move forward. Although the subject matter is tough and the ending is not necessarily a happy one, the reader is left with a sense of closure and hope. This book is relate-able and would be beneficial for any and every reader, but especially so for a reader that is dealing with a situation of this nature. I would recommend this book for anyone preschool age and up, and anyone that is interested in beautiful artwork and a tasteful, if heavy, message.
April 27, 2015
Knock Knock My Dad's Dream For Me it about a boy who plays a game with his father.One morning his father never came back.So, the boy decides to write a letter to his father telling him that he misses him a lot.After days go by the boy finally receive a response from his father.In the letter his father tells him that he will not come back and from now on he will be responsible to do everything by himself.
It is a sad story but is realistic fiction because it has some deep meanings we can see this in the book through the text and wonderful pictures of the author and illustrated.I can use this book to teach students about life situations between families.Some students may even relate to the story because they are experience the same situation in their own household.Maybe the lost of a parent or just living with a single parent might be that situation of a student.
It is a sad story but is realistic fiction because it has some deep meanings we can see this in the book through the text and wonderful pictures of the author and illustrated.I can use this book to teach students about life situations between families.Some students may even relate to the story because they are experience the same situation in their own household.Maybe the lost of a parent or just living with a single parent might be that situation of a student.
June 11, 2017
It was easy for me to find a text-to-self connection with Knock Knock because my father was also fairly absent during my childhood because of divorce. While the child's age is never stated, the illustrations (an excellent mix of watercolor and collage) portray him as being fairly young, maybe a bit older than I was at the time of my parents' divorce (age 4-5). "And then one day the knock never comes." and "'I am sorry I will not be coming home.'" are two lines in the book that really resonated with me, and I would imagine many others who have had to deal with the absence of a parent; these lines almost perfectly summarize the experience and realization of what is happening. And though I never found a letter for me after returning from school one day, I did and (still do) receive encouragement from my dad through calls and texts.
December 8, 2015
This was a rather depressing book by the main theme being about divorce. The book was about a young boy whose father had just left him and his mother but he always thinks his dad is coming back. I would use this book in my classroom to familiarize students with this. Some students may even relate to the book because they are experience the same situation in their own household. this book can be useful in the classroom in kind of a sad way but one that will support the student. you may have a student that went through the same thing and when he or she hears that this happened in the book they can relate.
Beaty, D., & Collier, B. (n.d.). Knock knock: My dad's dream for me.
Beaty, D., & Collier, B. (n.d.). Knock knock: My dad's dream for me.
March 18, 2014
I have to say that I am really confused between 4 or 5 stars for this book. On a personal note, as a parent, I was angry with the father as it seemed the father's absence was for his walking out on the family vs. death. So, in some ways, it almost felt that the author was condoning this action. So, I found myself angry with the book on that perspective.
On a professional note, unfortunately in life, loss is a given. So, this book would be an excellent book to use in bibliotherapy with children who are in this type of loss.
On a professional note, unfortunately in life, loss is a given. So, this book would be an excellent book to use in bibliotherapy with children who are in this type of loss.
September 29, 2015
While reading this book, I didn't know what it was really about until I read the author's note in the back. It's about the relationship between a boy and his father who gets incarcerated. This makes sense to me now that I've read it, as it is told from the boy's point of view and he wouldn't understand why his dad wasn't around anymore. The illustrations are what really make this book stand out. They are truly fantastic.
I wouldn't use this book for storytimes, but would recommend it to those in a similar situation.
I wouldn't use this book for storytimes, but would recommend it to those in a similar situation.
January 30, 2016
Check out the author's presentation of his poetry (this book): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eYH0A...
Wow!! For me, that was 5+ stars! The picture book didn't have the same kind of emotional impact on me; I was left feeling sad for the boy. But when I listen with the author's conviction and intonation behind the words--wow--I am left feeling empowered, or feeling that children in this situation can indeed be empowered.
Wow!! For me, that was 5+ stars! The picture book didn't have the same kind of emotional impact on me; I was left feeling sad for the boy. But when I listen with the author's conviction and intonation behind the words--wow--I am left feeling empowered, or feeling that children in this situation can indeed be empowered.
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