In this gentle and lyrical picture book, a father expresses his thoughts as he gets ready to read to his new child for the first time. He describes all the things he will do—bathing the baby, putting on the baby’s pajamas, wrapping in a blanket—and admits that he’s a little nervous to share this special moment. He knows the baby may wiggle and not listen at first, “But then we’ll find our way together,” as the father’s voice becomes quieter and gentler.
This is a special book and a special moment, he continues. “We have stories to discover and magical places to visit, you and I. But tonight, this is the first book I’ll read to you.” The rest of the world recedes as they share this time together—and the soft illustrations by Magenta Fox show the father imagining doing things in years to come as the child grows.
The father finishes the story and kisses the child good night, and will “remember this moment always.”
I love this story of vulnerable, nurturing, and gentle fatherhood—a great model for all fathers. Where’s the queerness, though? A family photo on the wall in one illustration shows the dad and another man with their arms around each other. Elsewhere on the wall we see side-by-side photos of the men, clearly a deliberate positioning, so it doesn’t seem that they are just friends. It’s possible they could be brothers, but pair the image with the fact that author Francesco Sedita is himself married to a man, and it seems very likely that the father here is intended to be a queer man (though he doesn’t need to be read as such). We don’t see the other man elsewhere; presumably, if they are parenting together, they’ll each have their own “first book” moment with their child. The queerness is subtle, but queer dads who want to see themselves here can easily do so, even as the book carries a broad message. Highly recommended.
A perfect story for bedtime.
The father and child have medium light skin and dark hair.
