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DAD BAKES

Katie Yamasaki

An intimate and tender story of the love between a father and a daughter.
Dad wakes early every morning before the sun, heading off to work at the bakery. He kneads, rolls, and bakes, and as the sun rises and the world starts its day, Dad heads home to his young daughter. Together they play, read, garden, and - most importantly - they bake. This lovely, resonant picture book was inspired by muralist Katie Yamasaki's work with formerly incarcerated people. With subtle, uncluttered storytelling amplified by her monumental and heartfelt paintings, she has created a powerful story of love, of family, and of reclaiming a life with joy. Katie Yamasaki works primarily as a muralist and picture book creator. She has painted more than eighty murals around the world, and her most recent book is Everything Naomi Loved. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their daughter.
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Published 2021-10-26 by Norton Young Readers

Comments

The story's text is short and poetic, further directing readers' focus to the book's glorious art. Yamasaki's paintings create a dreamlike atmosphere throughout.

Yamasaki offers spare, cadenced prose... Richly saturated, dynamic paintings showcase expressive, inclusive community, and intricately detailed spreads offer plenty to pore over in this meditative tale centering the significance of daily rhythms as well as familial and community love.

Tender and heartwarming.

PW spoke with Yamasaki about her path to illustration, her work with communities impacted by incarceration, restorative justice, and more. Read more...

DAD BAKES is A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2021 A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2021 An Amazon Best Children's Book of 2021 An Atlanta Parent Magazine Best Book of 2021

Q&A: Today we're delighted to welcome Katie Yamasaki to the WNDB blog to talk about Dad Bakes. Read more...

This deeply empathetic title invites conversation and participation from so many angles; it is a must for all collections.

Weave[s] a picture of love and devotion, of parenthood and childhood enjoyed to its fullest... Full of quiet moments of joy and affirmation.