Taro Gomi, author and illustrator,
I Lost My Dad
Kane Miller, 2001.

Many of us have childhood memories of losing our parent(s) at the store and most of us losing track of them because we focused our attention on something special that caught our eye. Here, a boy loses track of his dad while admiring toys. The author/illustrator takes us on the boy's frantic journey while he searches for his dad throughout various departments in a large Japanese store. The expressive watercolor illustrations detail Japanese shopping culture and the misshaped pages make for a fun picture book.

The story itself is simple and true to a child's experience after finding his/her dad, ending with, “... I found you. Can we go back to the toys now? I know what I want!”

Tanya Kim