Taming Papa

The summer after grade five is a difficult one for Mélie. Her father, Sami, about whom she knew nothing before now, has been released from a political prison in his home country and now joins Mélie and her mother in their small Montreal apartment. Sami does not know French—nor does Mélie understand her parents’ home language—making communication especially difficult for everyone. Complicating matters, Sami is not adjusting well to life outside of prison (he watches television and naps most of the day), and Mélie has been asked to look after him while her mother is at work. On a trip to the park, Mélie reconnects with her grade three teacher, Monsieur Xavier, who has recently adopted an infant daughter, Mei-Li, and who is having some adjustment problems of his own.. Mélie agrees to babysit for the child, providing some respite for Xavier and his partner as well as an escape from her brooding father.

Goupil’s short novel, smoothly translated by Shelley Tanaka, offers middle grade readers a glimpse of two families dealing with difficult adjustments. Mélie knows she is expected to love her father, and she really tries, but his gruff exterior and refusal to leave the house, even in the heat, results in a relationship fraught with misunderstandings. Her attempts to broach the gap—purchasing him a two-way dictionary and making French flashcards for him—are both endearing and heartbreaking in their failure. Mei-Li’s dads provide Mélie with a sounding board for her frustrations and her fears that she does not have a “real” family. Including an engaging and sometimes comic subplot involving a stray kitten, Taming Papa is a satisfying and ultimately triumphant reminder that families come in all configurations.