THIS SUNDAY MY DADDY CAME TO CHURCH

Dressed in his Sunday best, Omar goes to church every week with his mother but wishes his dad would come, too.

“Daddy doesn’t go to church,” even as young Omar and his mother prepare to leave home, hoping that he’ll change his mind this time. But Daddy prefers to spend his Sundays “doing much of nothing or a little bit of something.” Paul’s bright, full-colored digital art depicts a Black family that’s nevertheless loving and supportive despite their differences of opinion. As mother and son walk to Ebenezer Church, a community made up of people of varied skin tones greets the duo in the street. In the pews, even as Omar and his best friend, Imani, make funny faces at one another, the absence of Omar’s father is felt. Back at home, Omar’s father has prepared lunch and dinner with his free time, but from Omar’s detailed and earnest narration, it’s clear that he and his mom share a lingering dream of their whole family attending a Sunday service together. Still, “sometimes worship isn’t in a building,” Mom assures son and readers alike. Daddy eventually shows up to church in the suit and tie laid out for him by his loved ones, met by a big, exuberant smile from little Omar—a moment that may read as passive aggressive to some but that will earn smiles from others, particularly those who have found themselves in similar situations.

In this tender tale, church-going wins over a relatable father with charm and bite-sized guilt.