Martin's Father

Martin's Father by Margrit Eichler

Martin's Father is a 1971 childrens book published by Lollipop Power in Chapel Hill, NC. They were a feminist collective that published books to counteract sex-stereotyped behavior and role-models. The author, Margrit Eichler, was a professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Toronto; her research areas included non-sexist research methods, new reproductive technologies, contemporary families, and related issues. She wrote and published extensively on these subjects, as well as authored the children’s book, Martin's Father, while she was working on her PhD at Duke University.
The book portrays a typical day in the life of a single parent father and his son Martin. The father cooks breakfast, they play, do laundry together, go for a walk in the park, feed pigeons, and eat lunch. In the evening his father bathes Martin, puts him to bed, and plays him a song. Martin believes he has the best father in the world.
This book was very popular with my children when they were young and is still a powerful memory for them as adults. It is a simple yet powerful statement about single parent father families.

Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss

Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss by Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen

Tear Soup is a large format illustrated children's book that is well suited to reading aloud and, despite its childrens format, is suitable for all ages. It is a guidebook in story form for dealing with grief. Illustrated with color drawings by Taylor Bills, it tells the story of how Grandy deals with a crippling loss by making tear soup from the tears she has cried. As she makes the soup, she flavors it with memories and the caring thoughts of friends and relatives, mapping out ways to deal with grief on every page. After the story ends, there is a list of "Cooking Tips" and two pages of Real Life resources for "Where to find help."