A Father’s Day Tradition | Gift Ideas for Dad

For their first Father’s Day (Aiden was 6 months old), I chose the book, Me and My Dad! by Allison Ritchie.

It’s a #1 New York Times Bestseller about the adventures of Daddy bear and his son. This book continues to be special.

Aiden was 18 months old for the second Father’s Day. He helped me choose My Dad, My Hero by Ethan Long to give to his daddy. With its colorful illustrations, this book reads like a comic book. A little boy lists all of the ways his dad is not a superhero and describes why his dad is his hero. When we first got this book, Aiden requested to read it every night for at least a month. It is adorable and funny. I highly recommend this book.

For their third Father’s Day, we got the book What Dads Can’t Do by Douglas Wood. Reader Michelle suggested it, and I’m happy we purchased it. The book shows all the things dads do, but from a kid’s perspective. Dads can’t cross the street without holding hands. When dads play hide-and-seek they always get found… Dads need kisses before bedtime.

The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins was Aiden’s choice for their 4th Father’s Day. He was very fond of penguins and liked how the book shows how much the daddy Emperor Penguin cares for his baby. While mom heads off to catch lots of fish, dad holds the egg on his feet for two months keeping it warm. The egg hatches and daddy feeds the penguin chick until mom returns with fish. The book is illustrated by Jane Chapman, who is well known for illustrating the Bear books by Karma Wilson.

For Father’s Day number 5, I chose My Father Knows the Names of Things by Jane Yolen. The father in this book knows the name of lots of things and teaches them to his child. They talk about the names of birds, clouds, planets, insects, plants, dinosaurs, and more. Aiden loves asking his dad questions about all the things around us. This book is perfect for the two of them. Lily was barely two months old, but I made sure to add her handprint to the book as well.

Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer – It’s about a father-son camping trip. Little Critter tells the story and makes quite a few mistakes during the trip (a bear eats the fish he was cooking), but they still manage to have a great time.

Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids’ Guide by Lynn Brunelle – From tent pitching, building campfires, and knot tying to recipes, crafts, and nature exploration, this book is full of camping activities for kids.

Moo! by David LaRochelle – Since the first two books were geared more for Aiden and his dad, I needed a book for 1 year old Lily. The board book version of Moo! was perfect. The entire book consists of one word: Moo. Follow the cow as she gets into a bit of trouble with the farmer’s car all the while speaking in moo. It’s such a fun read.

For Father’s Day #7, we added Bedtime Blastoff! by Luke Reynolds to our collection. Aiden loved all things space. This book tells the story of how a little boy delays going to bed by imagining all sorts of adventures. His dad asks, “Bedtime?” and each time the boy responds, “Not yet.” The story ends with the Dad and son asleep in bed dreaming of outer space. Since the story was about a little boy, I chose a second book to include Lily a little better.

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton is one of those books that you can’t not love. We first checked it out at the library and the whole family enjoyed it. We don’t just read it, we sing it. “OOO Snuggle Puppy of mine. Everything about you is especially fine. I love what you are. I love what you do. Fuzzy little Snuggle Puppy, I love you.” Books by Sandra Boynton top our list of favorite books for babies.

For our 8th Father’s Day, the kids and I chose two Star Wars themed books.

Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess are two fun little books for Star Wars Fans.

Each of the books has funny little imagined snippets of life from Darth Vader and Luke or Leia.

How would Darth Vader handle being a dad? These books aim to give you a glimpse at how it might go.

For our 9th Father’s Day, each of the kids gave a book to their dad. Aiden (age 8) chose My Dad Thinks He’s Funny because it’s full of dad jokes and silly things dads say. For example, when you’re about to cut a cake for dessert, Dad says: “Well there’s my piece. What’s everyone else having?” This book is totally relatable and makes us giggle. But be warned: it may give Dad a few new ideas.

Lily (age 4) chose I Love Dad with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eric Carle’s famous little caterpillar walks you through the story filled with other animal dads and kids. The book is a sweet tribute to everything we love about dads – how they are easy to talk to and fun to play with. They’re silly and cool (even when we feel prickly). Dads are always there for us.

I chose Hooray for Birds! for Elon (age 2). We checked this book out at the library and Elon fell in love. (His dad loves birds, too, so this is a perfect fit for them.) The book is full of colorful birds who are busy flapping their wings, hopping, pecking, swooping, and more. We love copying the birds actions as we read along. The last page of the book has an owl saying goodnight. The end papers are extra special, too. Inside the front cover, you’ll see all of the birds awake (except the owl). Inside the back cover, you’ll see all of the birds asleep (except for the owl)..

On our tenth Father’s Day, each of the kids gave a book to their dad. Aiden (age 9) chose a book full of projects for him and his dad to do together. Made by Dad: 67 Blueprints for Making Cool Stuff is a great choice for carving out some father/kid time.

I chose With My Daddy: A Book of Love and Family for Lily (age 5). It’s such a sweet book about the relationship between a father and his daughter. It talks about the adventures they have together and the way she feels when she’s with her dad. To be honest, I wish it was written more gender neutral as it would have been the perfect book for all of my kids this year. 

For my youngest (Elon, age 3), I chose a cute little board book called, My Dad Loves Me! by Marianne Richmond. “My dad protects me. My dad kisses me. My dad tickles me. My dad hangs out with me.” The simple text pairs with animals and their dads. My toddler will love reading this one with his dad.

On our 11th Father’s Day, the kids have chosen one book to give to their dad. How to Surprise a Dad by Jean Reagan is a how to manual for surprising your dad on regular days and special days. It’s a goofy read with loads of great ways to tell dad he’s special.

Last year, I chose a book for each child to give. The Bench by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is about the relationship between a father and son as seen from the mother’s point of view. It’s a sweet story that tells how their relationship grows and changes over the years.

Hike by Pete Oswald was my choice for Lily (age 7). She loves hiking and going on adventures with her dad. The book is a nearly wordless picture book that shows the hiking adventure of a father and child. The illustrations are stunning. You will fall in love with the story as you follow the pair through the woods and up the mountain.

Little Wolf’s First Howling was perfect for Elon (age 5) who loves wolves. Although Lily would have loved giving this book to her dad, too. It’s a cute story about the first time a little wolf howls. Big wolf shows how it’s done, but Little Wolf doesn’t exactly copy. Instead, he does something that’s all his own.

This year I chose 3 books that I thought represented my kid’s relationships with their dad. Wee Hee Hee: A Collection of Pretty Funny Jokes and Pictures is my choice for 12-year-old Aiden. He still enjoys our book tradition, but doesn’t know what to choose. Aiden has always enjoyed a good dad joke, so I knew this was the perfect book for them.

What We’ll Build: Plans For Our Together Future by Oliver Jeffers is a follow up to his Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, which he wrote to his son. What We’ll Build is written to his daughter. It starts with the question: “What shall we build, you and I?” The illustration has dad’s hands next to a child’s hands. This is such a sweet story that I had to add it to our collection.

I chose Rafa Counts on Papá for my youngest this year. Elon loves numbers and is always quizzing us with math problems.