By Courtney Garton
Quality Paperback
Perry Publishing
128 Pages
ISBN 1891043005
$14.95
Review by Diana Kathrein
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It was a rare occasion when my mom would scribble "I Love You" or "Have Fun Today" on a napkin for my lunch box. Although I muttered the usual "Oh, brother" before wiping my hands on it and crumpling it up, I wish my mom would have emotionally reached out to me more often. Remembering how those lunchbox surprises gave me butterflies, sometimes I'll take a small bite out of my husband's sandwich before carefully wrapping it up.

Courtney Garton, a divorced and remarried father of two girls, scribbled pithy notes for his daughters' lunch boxes every morning when he had visitation. When his youngest daughter, now much older, handed him a box of 150 of the napkins she'd saved and challenged him to write a book, he couldn't resist. Thus, Garton has brought us Napkins: Lunch Bag Notes from Dad; a warm book filled with the honest struggles of being a father and musings--often in silly rhyming prose--of trying to understand his daughters and keep the communication lines open as they grew up part time with him. For Instance:

Hard to Make a Stand
There was once a mean old dad,
Who wouldn't let his daughter be free.
The daughter got mad,
The father got sad.
That's the tale so far, you see
For that mean old dad Is me.
Love me,
Love me not,
Dad

Napkins is a must-read for any parent looking for inspiration and a new idea on how to secure or begin an open relationship with their kids, not to mention the butterflies and the memories.

You're There, So Cross That Bridge
You are what you think you are.
So, what are your choices?
Saying, "I'm bad, I stink"
Or, "I'm good! I'm a star!"
Which of these voices
Will get you far?
Love, dad

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