A gentle yet affirming conversation between a young Black boy and his father about their life together, as they walk through their vibrant, multicultural, queer-inclusive neighborhood.
Written by Queer Eye star Karamo Brown and his grown son Jason “Rachel” Brown, the story is told from the perspective of a young Black boy addressing his father and reflecting on the moments and memories of their life together. “First there was you, Dad,” he says. “Then there was me. And now there is us!” The father responds with gentle words of support and encouragement, including reminders that the boy is “perfectly designed.” It is the child, however, who is leading the conversation, as we see them go about their day together. Eventually, the boy looks ahead, wondering if his dad will miss him when he grows up and goes away. “You know I will,” the dad responds. The two of them, they agree, “are perfectly designed for each other.”
The book captures universal feelings of parental-child love in simple but elegant phrases. It also does that rare thing—centers the story around everyday activities but makes it engaging, with just enough humor to make us smile and a drive helped by Anoosha Syed’s illustrations of the duo walking forward to various local spots. The cartoon-like but not cutesy illustrations reflect not only the father and son’s emotions, but also their vibrant, multicultural, and diverse neighborhood, which includes a two-mom couple, a parent with tattoos and piercings, and ones with t-shirts saying “Be Kind” and “Feminist,” as well as four men clearly intended to represent the other four Queer Eye co-hosts (though never stated as such, and subtly added in the end papers). It’s unclear if the father is a single parent or has a partner or spouse of any gender; that makes the book adaptable for many dad-headed types of families. (I’m tagging it as having a gay/queer dad because Brown is.)
Brown, who had come out as gay at 16, had not realized that his last girlfriend had become pregnant with his child, Jason. Ten years later, she contacted him for child support, he told Parents.com. Brown took full custody and eventually adopted Jason and his half brother Chris, then stepped away from his television career to become a social worker and focus on his family, before returning to TV in recent years. Jason Brown is now grown and an actor, and writes in the afterward to the book that he’s always dreamed of writing a story about the lessons his dad taught him, including that “I was perfectly designed.”
Celebrity children’s books can, as a category, be hit or miss. This one’s definitely a hit.
