''The Bench'' is a 2021

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

for children ''For Children'' (Hungarian: ) is a cycle of short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók. The collection was originally started in 1908 and completed in 1909, and comprised 85 pieces which were issued in four volumes. Each piece is based on a f ...

written by

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

. It was published on June 8, 2021, by

Random House Children's Books Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. Meghan has also narrated the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

of the story. The book is illustrated by

Christian Robinson Christian Robinson (born August 2, 1986) is an American illustrator of children's books and an animator. He is based in Sacramento, California and has worked with The Sesame Street Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios. He graduated from the Calif ...

; it features Robinson's first illustrations in

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

Background

The genesis for the book came from a poem that Meghan wrote for her husband,

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succe ...

, for

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

. Meghan found inspiration for the book from the relationship that Harry has with their son,

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor (born 6 May 2019) is the son of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. He is a grandson of King Charles III and is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne. Birth, family ...

Synopsis

The book is about the relationship between a father and his son told from the perspective of the mother. Random House Children's Books said in a press release that the book "touchingly captures the evolving and expanding relationship between fathers and sons and reminds us of the many ways that love can take shape and be expressed in a modern family". Meghan described Robinson's "beautiful and ethereal" illustrations as capturing "the warmth, joy, and comfort of the relationship between fathers and sons from all walks of life" and that she and Robinson "worked closely to depict this special bond through an inclusive lens".

Reception

Alex O’Connell of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' praised ''The Bench'' for its illustrations but stated it lacked "a good story and basic rhythm" and remarked its readability targeted "needy" parents rather than young children. Sarah Dawson of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' dubbed it a "sweet, calming bedtime read" that was "unlikely to win any literary awards" and also noted its appeal to adults rather than children. Writing for ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', Claire Allfree found ''The Bench'' a "series of imperatives disguised as loving verse", and criticized its grammar and "generic" storyline. Emily Phillips from the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' gave plaudits for the book's "soft rhymes and gentle watercolours", and praised its relatability to diverse families. Rosita Boland for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' praised Robinson's watercolor depictions as "lovely" but labelled the Duchess's writing "extremely disjointed". Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Sarah Lyall complimented the book's messaging and illustrations but labelled the rhyming "tortured" and dubbed the writing "not terrible, but it’s not terrific." On June 9, the book reached number three on Amazon's American bestseller list and was number one in the Children's Emotions books category. On June 17, the book reached number one on the children's picture books category of ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bench, The 2021 children's books American picture books Books about families Random House books