#RWYK Great Read #Review – When Daronte’s Father Went to Prison by Kimberly Ballou 

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Woohoo! Reading with Your Kids is ELATED to announce that “When Daronte’s Father Went to Prison” by Kimberly Ballou is the first book to have earned the Reading With Your Kids Certified Great Read Status. The Reading With Your Kids Certified Great Read designation has been developed to acknowledge outstanding books and products that kids and parents will love to experience together.

When Daronte’s Father Went to Prison

Blurb:

Ten-year-old Daronte Williams likes basketball, playing video games with his father, and teasing his baby sister. His life changes drastically and unexpectedly one day when he stays home sick from school. He struggles to find his balance in an upside-down world. Can Daronte handle all the changes in his life, keep his family from falling apart, AND learn to accept some not-so-good things about his father? Can he uncover who he really is underneath all his sadness and anger? Only time–and new friendships–will tell.

Purchase: Amazon

About the Author

When Daronte’s Father Went to Prison” was written by Kimberly Ballou. Kimberly Ballou was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, the youngest of seven rambunctious children.  A bookworm from early childhood, Kimberly has an obsession to tell stories. That obsession led her to write her first play at age 9.  After graduating from Princeton University and spending years in the corporate world, she fled to the relative sanity of an urban classroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Her experiences in those classrooms, and the heartbreaking stories she heard from her students, drove her to write and publish “When Daronte’s Father Went to Prison.”

Kimberly now lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas with overflowing bookshelves filled with stories from all over the world.

Social Media Links: Facebook    Twitter

Our Review

A wonderful book that anyone with an incarcerated spouse/brother/sister should consider buying! This book will help children understand and cope with a loved one going to jail.  Kimberly deals with a tough topic, but unfortunately this is something some kids have to deal with.

“When Daronte’s Father Went to Prison” is a heartwarming story of a ten year old boy named Daronte Williams. Like many young kids of his age Daronte likes basketball, playing video games with his father, and teasing his baby sister. One day while home sick from school Daronte’s life changes drastically and unexpectedly when he witnesses his father’s arrest. He struggles to find his balance in an upside-down world. Daronte is scared and confused and embarrassed when children at school tease him about his father being in jail and calling him names. The boy much like any child who is going through this situation is having trouble dealing with it. The story covers how home life changes in the absence of a parent and all the struggles other parent & children has to face during this difficult phase.

Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t stop until the very end. In some of the parts when Dorante misses his father badly I could not control my emotions and cried. This is a powerful book that will help children facing this life changing circumstance. More importantly, it will help all children have empathy for others and appreciation for their families.  I think this is an honest but comforting book for any child that has to deal with an incarcerated parent & will help many kids through a difficult time.

Final Verdict:

An inspiring story of acceptance, patience, and unconditional love & we highly recommend this book to people of all ages!