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 Reading
with Dad Book List
Reading with
Dad is a list of quality children's picture books featuring fathers.
The list was originally developed in 2001 by the Minnesota Humanities
Center, involving a group of local children's literature specialists,
and has been revised several times. This latest revision occurred
in January 2007.
Most of the
books on the Reading with Dad book list are readily available through
bookstores and libraries. However, books marked with an asterisk
(*) may be difficult to find in bookstores, but can often be located
through local libraries.
Print
the booklist in PDF format or request
a quantity of colorful printed brochures.
Because new
titles have been added in these revisions, it has been necessary
to remove other titles. These books were removed for reasons such
as limited space, books no longer in print, or other books were
found that better meet certain father-related themes. These books
are still recommended as quality father-themed books. You can view
the list of books previously included in the booklist.
For Younger Children
Baby Dance
(1999) by Ann Taylor
A board book in which an African-American father croons to his baby
daughter and dances while holding her.
Because Your
Daddy Loves You
(2005) by Andrew Clements
When things go wrong during a day at the beach, a father could do
a lot of things but always picks the loving one.
Daddies Are
For Catching Fireflies (1999) by Harriet Ziefert
A lift-the-flap book that shows all the special things daddies can
do.
Daddy is
a Doodlebug (2000) by Bruce Degen
With inventive rhyme, a father and child bug savor the special joys
of companionship.
Daddy Makes
the Best Spaghetti (1986) by Anna Grossnickle Hines
A board book with a dad food shopping, making dinner, and generally
being a househusband.
The Daddy
Mountain (2004) by Jules Feiffer
A little girl's step-by-step account of climbing all the way up
on top of her daddy's head.
Dad's Dinosaur
Day (1993) by Diane Dawson Heard
Dad's behavior changes when he becomes a dinosaur for a day.
Kevin and
His Dad (1999) by Irene Smalls
With Mom away on a Saturday, a father and son spend the whole day
together first with household chores and then with some fun activities.
Let's Play
Rough (2000) by Lynne Jonell
A young boy wants to play rough with his father, but not too rough.
Lots of Dads
(1997) by Shelley Rotner & Sheila M. Kelly
Bright, joyful photos and a simple text show how dads are different
and special.
My Dad
(1991) by Debbie Bailey
A board book with photos of a variety of dads and children in natural
settings.
My Dad (2000)
by Anthony Browne
A child exaggerates the many wonderful things about his dad.
My Daddy
is a Giant (2004) by Carl Norac
A young child loves and admires his father - a true giant among
men.
Night Shift
Daddy (2000) by Eileen Spinelli
A father who works the night shift has a special bond with his daughter.
Octopus Hug
(1993) by Laurence Pringle
A burly father leads his children into some active games and imaginative
play.
On a Wintry
Morning (2000) by Dori Chaconas
A graceful poem of a father and a baby bundling up for an early
morning outing.
Papa, Do
You Love Me? (2005)
by Barbara M. Joosse
When a Masai father in Africa answers his son's questions, the boy
learns that his father's love for him is unconditional.
Pete's A
Pizza (1998) by William Steig
A dad brightens up a rainy day with a fun game of making his son
into a pizza.
Piggy and
Dad Go Fishing (2005) by David Martin
When his dad takes Piggy fishing for the first time and Piggy ends
up feeling sorry for the worms and the fish, they decide to make
some changes.
Rainy Day
(2000) by Emma Haughton
Shortly after his parents have separated, a son spends a rainy day
with his father.
* A Special
Kind of Love (1995) by Stephen Michael King
A father builds wonderful things for his son out of boxes as his
special way of saying "I love you."
Two Homes
(2001) by Claire Masurel
A young boy enjoys the homes of both his parents who live apart
but love him very much.
The Very
Best Daddy of All (2004) by Marion Dane Bauer (Minnesota Author)
Pictures and rhyming text show how animal, bird, and human fathers
take care of their children.
Vroomaloom
Zoom (2000) by John Coy (Minnesota Author)
A father takes his daughter on an imaginary car ride, lulling her
to sleep with various sounds.
What Dads
Can't Do (2000) by Douglas Wood (Minnesota Author)
A humorous account on how dads show love by explaining all the things
they can not do.
See this book's Minnesota
Storytime Reading Guide.
For Older Children
Animal Dads
(1997) by Sneed B. Collard III
Within the animal world, fathers have specific roles.
Carlos and
the Cornfield/Carlos y la milpa de maiz (1995) by Jan Romero
Stevens
In this English/Spanish bilingual story, a boy learns the meaning
of his father's statement, "You reap what you sow."
Dad and Me
in the Morning (1994) by Patricia Lakin
A young deaf boy spends a glorious morning sharing the beauty of
a sunrise with his father.
Dad, Jackie,
and Me (2005) by Myron Uhlberg
A boy learns the connection between his deaf father and the first
black baseball player in the Major Leagues.
* Daddy,
Could I Have an Elephant? (1996) by Jake Wolf
A father and son discuss the boy's exotic ideas about getting a
pet.
Daddy Played
Music for the Cows (1995) by Maryann Weidt (Minnesota Author)
A daughter's memories of her father and growing up on the farm.
See this book's Minnesota
Storytime Reading Guide.
Daddy Poems
(2000) selected by John Micklos, Jr.
A collection of short poems honoring fatherhood.
Daddy's Roommate
(1990) by Michael Willhoite
A child with divorced parents whose father is gay and has a roommate.
Faraway Home
(2000) by Jane Kurtz
A little girl in America worries as her father prepares for a trip
to visit his ill mother in Ethiopia.
Fly Away
Home (1991) by Eve Bunting
A father and son are homeless and living at the airport.
How Many
Stars in the Sky? (1991) by Lenny Hort
When a father and son can't sleep, they take a long drive to the
country to count the stars.
Just the
Two of Us (2001) by Will Smith
A popular song adds to the story of a father's love as his child
grows from a boy into a man.
Lewis &
Papa (1998) by Barbara Joosse
While accompanying his father on the wagon train along the Santa
Fe Trail, a young boy discovers what it is to be a man.
Loon Summer
(2001) by Barbara Santucci
A girl and her father spend their first summer at the lake without
the girl's mother.
My Father's
Boat (1998) by Sherry Garland
A Vietnamese immigrant tells his son how he learned to fish from
his father.
Night Driving
(1996) by John Coy (Minnesota Author)
A father and son drive into the night and watch for night animals,
swap baseball stories, and keep a lookout for eighteen wheelers.
See this book's Minnesota
Storytime Reading Guide.
Owl Moon
(1987) by Jane Yolen
On a winter's night under a full moon, a father and daughter trek
into the woods to go owling.
Papa's Latkes
(2004) by Michelle Edwards (Minnesota Author)
A father and his two daughters try to make latkes and celebrate
on the first Hanukkah after the girls' mother died.
See
this book's Minnesota Storytime Reading Guide.
* Papa's
Stories (1994) by Delores Johnson
A little girl enjoys her father reading stories to her, but then
discovers he's telling stories because he can't read.
Sammy Wakes
His Dad (2000) by Pat Brisson
A father, who is in a wheelchair, is reluctant to join his son in
going fishing until his son's love finally moves him to action.
The Summer
My Father Was Ten (1998) by Pat Brisson
A father tells his son the story of how he damaged a neighbor's
tomato garden when he was a boy and what he did to make amends.
Tell Me One
Thing, Dad (2004) by Tom Pow
A little girl and her dad have a going-to-bed routine that shows
how much they love each other.
Tell Me What
We Did Today (2003) by Rick Kupchella (Minnesota Author)
A father and daughter share special time reviewing the real and
made-up things that happened during their day.
See this book's Minnesota
Storytime Reading Guide.
Two Old Potatoes
and Me (2003) by John Coy (Minnesota Author)
After a girl finds two old potatoes at her father's house, they
plant and tend them to see if they will grow new potatoes.
See
this book's Minnesota Storytime Reading Guide.
Visiting
Day (2002) by Jacqueline Woodson
A young girl and her grandmother visit the girl's father in prison.
The Wall
(1990) by Eve Bunting
A little boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
in Washington, DC to find the name of the boy's grandfather.
When Dad's
at Sea (2004) by Mindy L. Pelton
A soldier's daughter worries about her dad on his mission far away
from home.
This book list was developed by the Minnesota Humanities Center.
The following Individuals contributed to the list:
- Dan Dailey,
The Five Owls
- Pat Downs,
San Diego County Library
- Tom Fitzpatrick,
Minnesota Humanities Center
- Shelly Hawkins,
Saint Paul Public Library
- Roxie Markie
- Paul Masiarchin,
Minnesota Fathers & Families Network
- Kathleen
Moriarty, Minnesota Humanities Center
- Glen Palm,
Saint Cloud State University
- Vicki Palmquist,
Children's Literature Network
- Todd Seabury-Kolod,
Saint Paul Public Schools
- Delene Thomas-Sanders,
Tartan High School
- Wendy Woodfill,
Hennepin County Library
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