Omar Jones had been kicking around the idea of writing a children’s book since his two daughters were little, sitting in his lap as he read to them.

“They loved for me to read to them,” said Jones. “We’ve gotten books from the Imagination Library and have maybe 100 books. When I read to them, I always put my funny little spin on the story, and the girls loved that. I remember thinking, ‘I ought to write a book for them.’”

The idea kicked around in Jones’ head for a while, but it was a note left for him by his oldest daughter, 10-year-old Olivia, that gave him the plot of a book.
“The note requested that I make pancakes for her and her sister (Ava, 6),” Jones said. “That was it. That was the story.”

A few months ago, Jones received the 150 copies of his book, “Pancakes with Daddy,” a self-published children’s book illustrated by Winda Mulyasari, a children’s book illustrator Jones found online.

It’s a little book with a big message: What children want most from their parents is their time and attention.

For Jones, a Columbus native and machine operator at Paccar, the story is drawn not only from his Saturday morning pancake ritual with his girls, but from his own childhood, too. 

The story is based on his relationship with his daughters, but Jones hopes it will resonate with other dads, especially in the Black community.

“Most definitely part of my goal was to show fathers, especially Black fathers, in a positive light,” Jones said. “All of my friends who are parents are very involved with their kids, and it’s important for our kids to see that. Mothers get so much attention and deservedly so, but there are a lot of fathers out there who are really involved in their kids’ lives, too, who don’t get much attention.”
According to Kids Count, there are 24 million children in the U.S. who live in single parents homes, most of them led by moms. But that narrative is sometimes misleading, Jones said.
“I know that personally,” Jones said. “My parents’ marriage didn’t work out, but that didn’t mean my dad wasn’t involved in my life. My thing growing up was basketball. I played probably 100 games, and my dad was there for all but two of them. He was there for home games and road games, too, no matter how far he had to drive. Really, anytime I needed him, he was there.”

Jones and his wife, Niikki, a registered nurse at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, put a heavy emphasis on spending quality time with their daughters, even if it means making some sacrifices.
“Nikki and I know how important it is to spend time with the kids, and I’ve made some sacrifices in terms of opportunities at work that might have taken time away from the girls. But that time, to us, is more important than financial gain. We are making a living, so what we’re doing for our kids is a priority.”

Jones said he thought the initial printing of 150 books would be more than enough, but the responses to the book have been surprising.

“I think we’ve sold 140 of them,” Jones said. “I made a post on Facebook about the book, and it just took off.”
That response has encouraged Jones to think about more books.
“Right now, the plan is for five books,” Jones said. “I’m already working on them.”

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

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