A Letter for Bob

by Kim Rogers, Jonathan Nelson (Illustrator)

Overview

With humor and heart and brought to life by Jonathan Nelson’s warm, distinctive artwork, Kim Rogers’s A Letter for Bob celebrates the treasured cars that carry us through our most meaningful childhood moments.

Ever since the day Mom and Dad brought Bob home from the car dealership, Bob has been a part of Katie’s family.

Bob has taken them all over, from powwows to vacations to time spent with faraway family. Bob has been there in sad and scary times and for some of the family’s most treasured memories.

But after many miles, it’s time for the family to say goodbye to Bob…

This humorous and tender story about a beloved family car—and all the stories and love carried along for the ride—will appeal to every kid whose family has owned a special car.

Winner of the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award and a Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Title!

Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma, illustrated by Julie Flett, which received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and ALA Booklist, which called it “a joyous, uplifting celebration of culture and family.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063044555
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/19/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma, illustrated by Julie Flett. She is an enrolled member of Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and is a member of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Much of her writing highlights her Wichita heritage. Kim lives with her family on her tribe’s ancestral homelands in Oklahoma. 

Jonathan Nelson is a visual artist. He is Diné (Navajo) and born into his mother’s clan, the Towering House Clan (Kiiyaa’áanii), and born for his father’s clan, the Mexican Clan (Naakai Dine’é). Jonathan holds a master’s degree in visual communication from the University of Arizona and works as an illustrator, fine artist, and creative consultant.

Editorial Reviews

"I adore this book with a completeness I didn't anticipate. I'll be sharing it at every workshop I do, with librarians, educators, teacher-educators... everyone." — Dr. Debbie Reese, American Indians in Children's Literature

"An engaging, emotionally resonant picture book." — Booklist (starred review)

"Rogers deftly conveys the bittersweet but necessary parting with something that has been a staple of a kid’s entire life. Vibrant digital art features characters with oversized heads and huge, welcoming smiles that beam with joy, while warms tones and pastoral scenes provide a gentle sense of comfort and safety. Give this to a kid who has a strong attachment to the family car so they can appreciate the many experiences shared with it." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"The narrative of the many uses of Bob provides a universal story line with which many children can identify while also matter-of-factly incorporating activities specific to Indigenous families. The engaging illustrations show Bob as a standard car without eyes, mouth, or other human features, and yet Katie’s heartfelt narrative enables readers to imagine Bob as an actual family member." — Horn Book Magazine

"Easy prose and crisply drawn digital illustrations give equal weight to each member of family caring for its members through life’s seasons." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From the Publisher

★ 2023-06-21
An Indigenous child’s touching tribute to Bob, the trusty family car.

“Dear Bob,” begins Rogers’ (Wichita) latest picture book, told from the perspective of a kid named Katie. “Mom and Dad told me about / the day they bought you / at the dealership / when I was a baby…. / They said that your paint sparkled in the sun, / your seats felt feather-soft, / and you had that new car smell.” What starts as a simple ode to a well-cherished sedan quickly becomes a more nuanced love letter to Native families, accompanied by emotion-driven, comic art from Nelson (Diné). Readers will find themselves riding along as the family attends the Wichita Annual Dance, speeds away from a formidable moose while on a road trip to Grand Teton, visits Aka:h (Wichita for grandparent) in her Shaconage (Smoky Mountains) home, and goes on everyday excursions to school, the library, and friends’ houses. Far from a mere piece of machinery, Bob is a treasured member of the close-knit family—“When we got into / a fender bender, / you kept us safe, / and we took care of / you then, too.” The narrative ends with a bittersweet so:ti:c?a (thank you) and goodbye as Bob is traded in for a car to better fit the growing family. For its tender vignettes of modern Indigenous life, this tale will make a glowing addition to any personal, school, or public library. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Slice-of-life Native stories told with joy and reverence. (author’s note, glossary, info on current tribal locations, publisher’s note) (Picture book. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews