A young girl and her grandmother visit the girl's father in prison.

"Twelve-year-old Tia lives in a white slum in New Orleans with her mother, and her whole world revolves around singing in the gospel choir with her best friend, Keisha--but when practice is interrupted by a shooting outside the church, and a baby is killed, Tia finds that she cannot sing, and she is forced to confront her feelings about her incarcerated father who killed a girl in a failed robbery years before." --

Children who have a parent in prison express their feelings of sadness, anger, worry, and embarrassment and suggest that talking to others and keeping in contact with the missing parent helps them deal with the situation.

"After "rotten bad year" on the mainland, eleven-year-old Jett returns to Newfoundland to spend the summer with his sprightly Grandma Jo (whose hair is dyed cotton candy blue to match her house), bringing along a shameful secret involving the betrayal of a friend. As summer unfolds, Grandma Jo nurtures in Jett his sense of caring for others while giving him space to breathe. Jett finds himself examining memories of his past like bits of sea glass-arranging...

"This is a story about a young girl, who wants more than anything to be with her father, but cannot because he is in prison. She discovers many ways to cope with her loss through creative expression, the natural world, and play." --

"Its visiting day, and Dad smells like peppermintyuck! If only he would wear that nice, breezy cologne that smells like hazelnut... So begins one boys brief weekly visit with his father in prison. Heres a man who gets angry, but beneath that peppermint surface is much to admire, if only you take the time to look. This richly imagined picture book explores the inner life of a boy who struggles to love a father who can be difficult to love at times....