Keeping the Night Watch

Written by Hope Anita Smith · Illustrated by E. B. Lewis and E.B. Lewis

A boy grapples with his father's return, torn between anger and healing.

4.1/5 Goodreads · 351 ratings

80 pages

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Bookroo's summary

Thirteen-year-old C.J. faces a storm of emotions when his father returns after abandoning the family. While others forgive, C.J. clings to the responsibilities he took on in his father's absence. His unresolved anger threatens to alienate him from his family, making home feel more fractured than ever. Can C.J. find a way to reconcile his feelings and help his family heal? Through evocative poetry, this story explores the complex journey of forgiveness and the struggle to rebuild trust.

From the publisher

So many unanswered questions weigh down thirteen-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was gone, and he’s not prepared to give that up. But C.J.’s anger is making him a stranger in his own home, and instead of life seeming better now that Daddy has returned, it feels worse.

Through powerful poems, Hope Anita Smith chronicles the nuanced emotions of a family that is slowly learning to heal and put the pieces back together.

Keeping the Night Watch is a 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children’s Book of the Year.