Reading...with children

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A paean to simple family rituals, Dan Yaccarino’s ‘Every Friday’ (Henry Holt: $16.95, ages 3 to 8) lyrically recounts the pleasures of setting aside a little time to spend, one- on- one, with a child, and making it a family tradition. ‘Friday is my favorite day,’ begins this book, because this is the day the narrator and his father walk to the neighborhood diner for breakfast. ‘Everyone is rushing, but we’re taking our time,’ reads a page on which Yaccarino’s soft-toned illustrations show the contrast between the harried morning comm uters and the pair strolling along peacefully, the boy proudly imitating his father’s bearing.

The text is simple, observing the plainest details along the way that are beloved simply because they occur every week, rain or shine. It’s only a few blocks, but it takes a while to arrive at the diner, where they’re well- known. ‘Pancakes, right?’ asks the waitress. ‘While we eat, Dad and I talk about all sorts of things,’ the boy says. What this book captures is the kind of intimacy that flourishes only when given a little breathing room--the kind of unrushable intimacy we could all make a bit more time for.

Sonja Bolle