Central Park Serenade uses illustrations and rhyming to celebrate the sights and sounds of New York’s Central Park in the summer as a father and son take a trip to the park to sail their boats. One of the first images is of a young boy sleeping, model sailboat hanging above his bed. The boy and his father leave their apartment building to walk in the park where they meet up with two friends to sail their boats in the pond. The book shows the caring father taking his son out for a day in Central Park and the sights and sounds they hear. The status of the father is open for interpretation, but no mother is shown. Being a single father is not the focus of the book either, it is simply a day out with his son. The verses describe the parks sounds and sights on a summers day: “Striike one! Striike two! An umpire’s call. Craaack! Whoosh! Retorts the ball.” The book also makes mention of the pigeons cooing and the big dogs barking as the sounds echoed through the park. The sounds and sights of Central Park are shown in beautiful illustrations as the father and son have their day out together.

Raising You Alone Picture Book/ Animal Fiction
Hanson, W. (2005). Raising You Alone. Minneapolis: Tristan Pub.
A family of rabbits show us the quirks and challenges of single parent families. Raising You Alone is showing single parenting through the eyes of the parent, and how much the parent does because they love their children. It displays the difficulties of being a single parent and the frustrations of being the child of a single parent. Walking through life’s ups and downs the story takes us through the pain, successes and unconditional love between a parent and a child. It discusses all the issues faced being a single parent family such as loss, loneliness and the lack of money and time, but those are all balanced by the good times and making of memories with their children. It shows parents when they are at their most frustrated and how they make up with their kids because they love them more than anything. It makes mention to parents taking care of their children while also working to take care of themselves. The book celebrated the strength of family and how you don’t need two parents to have a strong support system. The message from the parent rabbit is that there may be struggles but there will also be fantastic times and that they