Dad and Me in the Morning

Lakin, Patricia. Dad and Me in the Morning. Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company, 1994.

Patricia Lakin tells a story of a father and a son with a strong relationship who get up early in the morning to share the special experience of a beautiful sunrise. The son in this story is not explicitly described as deaf or hard of hearing, but it is evident in the fact that he uses a “special alarm clock” that flashes, wears hearing aids, is able to “speech-read”, and communicates with his father using sign language. The illustrations and descriptive words in the story portray this father and son to be similar to any hearing father and son who may be reading the story together, or just the same as any reader, for that matter. Just because the son is deaf does not hinder his experience of the wonders of the early morning world. He notices a bunny, smells pine trees, feels the slap of his sandals, and the cold water off the beach. He can smell the rocks, see and feel hermit crabs, and finally, see the beauty of a sunrise. We see that he experiences the world in the same way that we do, just more quietly than we may. The love in the father and son’s relationship also strengthens the sensitivity and normality of these characters. Without blatantly describing his deafness, Lakin portrays this deaf character in a positive light, highlighting his many other senses and abilities to communicate them.