My Dad Is a DJ

March 15, 2023
A child inherits his parent's love of music but develops his own tastes. Trevor, an African American tween, faces a conundrum as both the end-of-school party and his birthday approach. While his father, DJ Dap Daddy, plays some amazing tunes, Trevor feels increasingly distant from him, as his dad seems unaware that the boy is growing up and changing. When his parents split up and his dad gets his own place, Trevor hesitates to tell him that he has new friends and favorite foods and that a remix might be better for the school party than the classics. While listening to "Stand By Me" one day, Trevor changes the tempo, adds guitar, new instruments, beatboxing, scratching, vocals, and a voice-over, fashioning his own remix. With this song that's "old and new at the same time," Trevor brings something truly his own to his dad's DJing when the party rolls around. This is a realistic story of a child coming-of-age with an artistic parent who looks back more than forward but who can also still grow. Brown's highly patterned and textured watercolor, ink, and pencil illustrations incorporate collage elements, effectively conveying the tensions between father and son. (This book was reviewed digitally.) In this worthwhile father-son story, music is the tie that binds. (Picture book. 5-8)

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May 15, 2023
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Trevor's dad is a "tunes jivin', beat drivin', high-fivin'" DJ! Before his dad moved out of the home with Trevor and his mom, Trevor used to wait up for him so they could share a bowl of ice cream and listen to music. Now that his parents are divorced and live apart, Trevor eats ice cream alone and discovers all sorts of new things, including more music. Dad wants Trevor to stay the same, but Trevor wants to branch out. When Trevor remixes his dad's old classics, however, he creates a playlist they both can enjoy. This original take on a family dealing with the strains of divorce simultaneously celebrates Black identity and the culture of music. Brown and Erskine focus on the poignant and often painful space that develops between a parent and a child when families change, particularly when that parent misses out on the child's day-to-day life. Brown's sketchy multimedia artwork embodies the fluidity of the music it showcases in dark, neutral watercolor washes and pops of red that drench the background.

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May 22, 2023
Music helps a father and son renew their bond after a period of change leaves them out of sync in this emotionally honest story. Via first-person narration, Black-cued child Trevor describes connecting with their father, who’s DJ Dap Daddy on the radio. But when Dad moves out, Trevor begins to embrace new music with friends while Dad remains intent on the classics, creating a “new space between us.” As Dad prepares to DJ the end-of-school party, Trevor struggles to communicate changing needs to someone who “thinks our music can stay the same.” Brown’s ink and pencil sketches—outlined in uneven loose lines and washed in layered watercolors—visualize the story’s emotional push and pull through portraiture, metropolitan scenes, and music cover art and posters. When Trevor updates a playlist so that it remixes new and old tunes, the result leads to the pair DJing alongside one another—in sync once again. Rhythmic lines aptly communicate the meaning of the moment: “Growing a space where we both belong/ Finding our rhythm and making our song.” Ages 4–7.