Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me

Summary of Book

Winner of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Medal and the Boston Horn Book Award

A simple, powerful book for children, about an absent father and the love he leaves behind


Every morning, I play a game with my father.
He goes knock knock on my door
and I pretend to be asleep
till he gets right next to the bed.
And my papa, he tells me, "I love you."

But what happens when, one day, that "knock knock" doesn't come? This powerful and inspiring book shows the love that an absent parent can leave behind, and the strength that children find in themselves as they grow up and follow their dreams.

Author Biography

Daniel Beaty is a visionary actor, singer, writer, and social entrepreneur who lives at the intersection of art, spirit, and social change. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, Daniel grew up the child of a heroin addicted, incarcerated father, and younger sibling to a brother addicted to crack cocaine. Daniel learned early on that the arts can help heal childhood trauma, transform pain into power, and inspire a new generation of change makers to dismantle the systemic racism and oppression at the core of the challenges Daniel, his father, brother, and so many Americans face.

Daniel has spent his life telling stories that share both the truth of who we are as people and his hope for a better world. He believes these stories have the power to move us and inspire us, as individuals and as a society, to transform ourselves and the world: to confront our pain, imagine a better world, and work together to achieve it. Daniel has developed an awarding winning body of work that includes his plays Through the Night, Emergency, Mr. Joy, and The Tallest Tree in the Forest – Paul Robeson. These works have been performed at venues ranging from maximum security prisons to The Public Theater, Lincoln Center and White House. He has garnered numerous awards including an Obie award for writing and performance and five NAACP Theater Awards. A highly requested performer and keynote speaker, Daniel has worked throughout the U.S., Europe, and Africa. In these turbulent times of social change facing the nation, Daniel has continued to develop work that confronts, heals and nurtures us all.

Illustrator Biography

Bryan Collier has illustrated more than twenty-five picture books, including the award-winning Trombone Shorty, Dave the Potter, and Knock Knock: My Father's Dream for Me, as well as City Shapes,and Fifty Cents and a Dream, and has received four Caldecott Honors and six Coretta Scott King Awards. He lives with his wife and children in Marlboro, New York.