Amber Waiting

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Little Amber loves everything about kindergarten. She loves painting.
She loves learning to read. She loves playing with her friends in the
schoolyard. The only thing she does not love is waiting for her father
to pick her up when kindergarten is over. He is almost always late.

One day, when her father is especially tardy, Amber daydreams about
flying her dad to the moon. She would tell him “I’ll be back in no
time,” and then fly off and leave him alone. She would paint pictures.
She would sing songs. She would skate on frozen rivers where all the
dads in the world would see her and be reminded that they have children
waiting somewhere for them. Finally, she would return to the moon. Her
dad would look sad until he saw her coming back. And then she would ask
him if he had ever been alone and scared?

This book combines childlike whimsy with a poignant reminder of how
vulnerable children are to their parents’ behavior. Nan Gregory makes
it clear in her prose that Amber’s dad is not negligent, just
thoughtless. But what is thoughtless to an adult can be downright
frightening to a child. Fortunately, Amber’s dad “gets it.” Highly
imaginative illustrations by award-winning artist Kady MacDonald Denton
work perfectly with Gregory’s elegant prose. Highly recommended.