Night Shift Daddy

by Eileen Spinelli

A father shares dinner and bedtime rituals with his daughter before going out to work the night shift.

Genres: Family, Picture Books, Realistic Fiction, Cultural, Poetry, Love, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Eileen Spinelli is an award-winning children's book author from southeastern Pennsylvania. She has written over 100 picture books and novels for children. Her husband is Jerry Spinelli, who also writes books for children.

Reviews

[Manal Cheikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for younger children; the story has cute illustrations and has a wonderful rhythm in the lines. It is short enough to keep little children's attention!. Great story to help children understand daddy's work nights and come back home.

[Ch_amyM · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Night Shift Daddy, Eileen Spinelli tells the story of how a father puts his daughter to bed before heading off to his night shift job. She then goes onto show how the daughter puts her father to bed in the morning when returns from work and before she heads outside to play.

This simple story of family love is perfect for pre-school and kindergarten students. It is a great way to talk about family differences (some parents work during the day, others at night) and how students can show their love for their parents.

[Brooke Lewis]

Night Shift Daddy is a poetic book that takes place in the city. The story is about a little girl who says good bye to her father at bed time and watches him leave for his job as a janitor on the night shift. He returns home when she wakes in the morning, and then she tucks him in to rest. Instead of diversity in culture, and race, this book show diversity in social class. A quant apartment is featured and her father has a working class job. The book offers a plot with a storyline, problem and solution, and leaves plenty of room for elaboration. The book is perfect for young readers because it is easy to read, includes rhyming words, and never becomes boring. The characters feel real and are shown living full realistic lives. The illustrations are soft and sweet and follow the text accordingly. They help the reader realize that the dad leaves at night and returns in the morning. It also shows the quaint apartment and gives more insight into the fathers janitorial position. The story shows well dresses, happy characters who live a normal life. The book does not characterize or steretype those living in poverty as dumb, rude, or anything else. Before becoming and author, Eileen Spinelli worked as a waitress and receptionist. She belongs to the group and probably is a credible source for literature in relation to varying social class.

[chellaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this sweet book! Our 3 year old likes it too. We used to live a night shift life ( 5 years of it) and the first 2 years of our first son's life was on night shift schedule, so we could have more time with my husband. That life is so hard to explain, even some adults do not understand the life, so having a book like this for children is wonderful.
The book shows how a little girl spends time with her Daddy, which is a bit different than if her dad had a day job. The dad has a routine with his daughter ( which is definitely helpful for night shift life with family). He puts her to bed before work and when he comes home, she puts him to bed as the sun rises and the day starts. I think it very interesting how the artist shows how tired the dad is when he gets off work (very realistic).
The book is a very good conversation starter, even if your family doesn't live on night shift life, because it's shows children that not every family is the same, we are different. A child's friend may have parents that work night shift and so she may have to be extra quiet when she visits, so as not to wake up the parent.
I love this book!

[Ben Truong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night Shift Daddy is a children's picture book written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Melissa Iwai, which tells about a father’s relationship, who works the night shift, with his daughter.

Spinelli's text is rather straightforward, heart-warming, and poetic. The story flowed rather well with a familiar beat and I like the parallels between father and daughter. Iwai's illustrations are wonderfully depicted and emphasizes the prose rather well.

The premise of the book is rather simple yet incredibly touching. The father, who works at night, wakes up for dinner and shares a meal with his daughter, reads a bedtime story to her, tucks her in at night, kisses her good night, and goes to work. When the father comes home for breakfast, the little girl shares her breakfast with him, reads a bedtime story for him, tucks him in at night, kisses him good morning, and goes out to play.

All in all, Night Shift Daddy is a wonderful children's book about a father and daughter bedtime rituals and their special bond with each other.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a realistic fantasy book. I enjoyed reading this book because it was a shift from the roles society puts on families. I think this book will be interesting to all kids and not just the ones who parents work late. Even though there are not any problems and the plot in the story is not major, it still uses language that almost any kindergartner or older can understand. After reading the story you can ask your class questions such as why do you think she tucks her dad in every night or why do you think she watches her dad from the window, and do you do theses things when your mom or dad? The story is inspired from Brooklyn, New York and i can tell from the illustrations. I thought the illustrations were great and they followed the story well. The illustrations also make the words more believable by the way she drew the dad and daughter. Even though there is not much cultural information in the book. it is still a shift from the usual white American family. In the back of the book the Author talks about how she use to watch her father from the window every night when she was little and that is what inspired her to write this book. Even though the book lacks cultural representation the message told in the story makes up for it.

[Jackie Sisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Shift Daddy is a book about a young girl and her father who works nights. This book features a diverse family and demonstrates the characters' daily life. The father/daughter relationship in this book is truly heartwarming, especially when the daughter tucks her father into bed in the morning after he comes home from work the same way he tucks her in at night. This is a spectacular book to read to show children the diversity of family dynamics and job dynamics or to allow a child who has a parent who works night shifts to identify with this character who's family dynamic is similar. The social and emotional development supported by this book is one that should be cherished by parents and educators alike.

[Chiquita wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who doesn’t have a parent who works late and still gives the most to their little, no matter how tired they are to keep the love they have for them to never end and to make sure the child doesn’t feel lost. The children meet with their parents. They are hard-working parents, and they want to put warm food on the table. This wonderful rhythmic story tells a story of a father and his daughter and how he does everything to keep her safe and never feel as if she doesn’t love. If the child has a parent who works at night, what will the parent do at night and during the day?

[Marissa Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book relates to many children and their families. In my preschool class, the children repeatedly say, "mommy's and daddy's always come back!" And in this book, children will see that as well. The child in the book knows her daddy works the night shift and just as daddy tucks her in to bed at night she does the same in the mornings and Ii thought that was absolutely adorable. The boo had very realistic images. I enjoyed this book very much.

[Janice Ha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so similar to my past years and is very meaningful. This book is meaningful because it sort of portrays a bit or does happen in reality that parents do work at night. This book story is similar to my past years because my mom works at night and my dads works in the day. This book can teach children that when their mom or dad works at night they can help them, so their parents can relax a little or is able to get some rest.

[Betul Kilinc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really sweet heartwarming story about a little girl who has a father who works when she is sleeping and she plays in the day when her father is sleeping. The story starts with their bedtime routine and then by the end of the story the roles are reversed and the daughter tucks in her daddy and I thought that was a really cute way of showing children what having a night shit parent might look like.

[Sterlande Altidor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for younger children; the story has cute illustrations and has a wonderful rhythm in the lines. It is short enough to keep little children's attention. For any parents who have to work the night shift and even if you don't, your children will enjoy this book. Sometimes it may feel like we miss out on important things in our children’s life as parents. This book highlights the tender moments and shows how beautiful it can be.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly cute and realistic story that starts with a little girl describing her nightly ritual of being with her father and him tucking her into bed before he heads out into the cold night to start his shift. Then the little girl goes off to bed, and when she awakes her father is home. Now it is her turn, and she guides him through a night time ritual during the day. After her father is tucked into bed, she herself heads out to play.

[Brandice Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book that has good pictures to go along with it. It is about a father who works at night so it goes over the bedtime routine that he does with his little girl. There are some rhyming words in this book as well which I like. When the dad comes home the daughter does the same nighttime routine for her dad and puts him to bed. The pictures are set in like a city which I like and I like that this book is possibly a multicultural type of book that would be a good read for kids.

[Sophonie Joseph-Canel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never heard of this author before Mrs. Eileen but I am now a fan. This book honestly gives me all of the right feelings. I am very close to my father so I can definitely relate to this little girl and her bond with her father. It’s a sweet and sentimental book that showcases a fathers deep love for his child. I can see this being read it to children halls father works away from home or are based in the military. Overall just a great feelings book

[Jada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it is connected to some children in their family lives. This is a realistic fiction book that includes rhyming and social emotional content. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars because it isn't engaging and fun but more of a comforting and understanding of society book. This book can be used for social studies because children are being taught how some families live different.

[Brianna Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book to demonstrate a father daughter bond. This book as well as the illustrations show the days events of a father spending the day with his daughter and preparing for work. In this story the night ends with him tucking his daughter into bed, while he’s walking to the bus stop she’s watching him to make sure he’s safe . The following day the book explains how the daughter then has the opportunity to tuck her dad into bed.

[Natalie Greaves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl who's daddy has a night shift job. I like this book for demonstrating different types households. It shows how one families routine may differ from another. It helps children also understand the diversity that exists in other homes. I would use this story in a classroom to demonstrate the different types of families that exist.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always I make note on illustrations I love the muted colors since it is night time and bed time. What I really love is the snuggles and love and interactions with daddy even though he leaves at night. I think this is a great book for everyone on late shifts to give to the little ones, since we should all know how hard mom and dad work to take care of us all.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is appropriate when introducing various family images to children. This book explains the daily routine in night shift daddy and his daughter. It has repetitive expressions and rhymes, so it is easy to read and understand. The story that the child expresses to the father the way of the love which the dad showed to the child makes me warm feeling of love.

[Moore, Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Night Shift Daddy” by Ezra Jack Keats is classified as fictional book, targeting ages between 4 yrs and 7 yrs. This book is a good social emotional selection. This tender and moving picture book is a good selection companion for family relationships or father/daughter themes. The illustrations are warm and loving; the story has a poem-like rhythm with rhyming and vocabulary enrichment.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, well illustrated and wonderful text. A story in which many children can identify themselves mostly the one who has a parent working at night time, regardless of the job. Even though no one in the family works a night shift, it is still a good read with any child. All children can benefit by a conversation to follow how some families have a parent who goes to work in the evening.

[Raquel Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good for a child struggling with their father working a night shift job. The pictures are very inviting. This story made realize how important it is to stay inclusive. Not to assume everybody works day jobs. This is a great class story to introduce to children, and to explain how some parents or families work at night.

[Nora Manriquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really beautiful. Parents think that their children don't know when they work late night. This book is also good for rhyming since there are rhyming words. Some children don't know that their parents work late night that's why they won't play with them during the day because they are tired and children need to know this about them. This book is overall amazing.

[Bethany Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a cute way to be inclusive of different family lifestyles in the classroom. I liked this book because it shows children that having a family member who works night shift can be very hard, but there are still fun things we can do with our families to spend quality time with them. This book also teaches children that every family is different and unique.

[Morgan Renouf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really sweet story about family and the relationships within. It shows how all families are different, as well as their lifestyles. I think this can spark discussions about family traditions and how every family does things differently. The connection between the dad and daughter is something I connect with and I'm sure many kids can relate as well.

[Abigail Mayeske · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a compelling story for young children. It is a great way to introduce different family structures, especially if a student in your class has a similar one to this. I also like the showing that people do different things at night and in the daytime. I liked the very realistic illustrations as well.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming bedtime poem about a little girl who goes to sleep when her daddy goes off to work. The kids thought this was similar to other bedtime poem stories, except that this one has the added detail of the father's night time work. Kids with parents or grandparents who work the night shift or who sometimes need to work night shifts might relate to this book. Good for toddlers and preschoolers.

[Kimberly Medley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be use in the home and classroom setting, because it shows that many parents not only work during the day but at night too. Bight Shift Daddy shows a love and trusting bond between a family, this is good for a family/relationship unit in school. This book can help children better transition if they have a parent that works a night.

[Tami Speakman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sweet story, the daddy gets his daughter ready for bed before he leaves for work then in the morning the daughter helps get her daddy ready for bed just like him. The illustrations are very life-like and the children can relate to them. The children can see themselves in the story since their parent(s) put them down probably the same way.