Here's one for the StocktonDaddies.
This afternoon, Fathers & Families of San Joaquin is celebrating the power of father-child reading with The Stand Up, Sit Down Literacy Circle, to be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at Chavez Central Library.
"Real men stand up to violence," according to the nonprofit organization, "and sit down to read to their children."
There's something to it: Of San Joaquin County's roughly 215,500 households, just about 10 percent (21,500) are led by single mamas, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And local children growing up without a dad are far likelier than others to grow up in poverty (about 40 percent versus 15 percent).
This evening's event will feature books that include strong father figures.
Can't wait? Here are a few picture books about dads and their kiddos to get you inspired (All are available through the Stockton-San Joaquin Public Library system):
by Joanna Harrison
Copy available at the Chavez Central Library
"Dad woke up in a grizzly mood. All morning he groaned and grizzled and grumped. And then he went back to bed! But when I pulled back the covers to see how he was, it wasn't Dad in bed at all ... It was a GREAT BIG GRIZZLY BEAR!"
by Carol Nevius
Copies available at the Chavez Central Library, and the Troke, Manteca, Angelou, Escalon, Thornton, Linden and Lathrop branch libraries.
"A father and his young child watch the construction of the new school, from the bulldozing of the earth and mixing of the concrete for the foundation to the hanging of the new sign."
(a personal favorite)
by Neil Gaiman
Copies available at the Chavez Central Library, and the Troke, Tracy, Manteca, Ripon, Thornton, Weston Ranch and Mountain House branch libraries.
"This deluxe edition of a cult classic is a rollicking tale of a boy who trades his dad for his best friend's goldfish."
by Arthur Dorros
Copies available at the Chavez Central Library, and the Tracy, Manteca and Angelou branch libraries.
"When I'm with my papa, I can fly like an eagle, an aguila. I can climb alto, high, in a tree."
