suggested by Tom Fitzpatrick at the Minnesota Humanities Commission

These are great books throughout the year for dads and their children to share together.

For a more complete selection, please visit the Minnesota Humanities Commission website, where they have recommended more than 50 books for this list. Click here.

If you'd like free copies of MHC's Reading with Dad brochure, please send Tom Fitzpatrick an e-mail by clicking here.

Baby Dance — written by Ann Taylor,
illus. by Marjorie van Heerden

A board book in which an African American father croons to his baby daughter and dances while holding her.

Daddy is a Doodlebug — Bruce Degen

With inventive rhyme, a father bug and his child savor the special joys of companionship.

My Dad — Anthony Browne

A child exaggerates the many wonderful things about his dad.

What Dads Can't Do – by Douglas Wood,
illus. by Doug Cushman

A humorous account of how dads show love by explaining all the things they cannot do.

Daddy Played Music for the Cows – by Maryann Weidt, illus. by Henri Sorenson

A daughter's memories of her father and growing up on the farm.

My Father's Boat – by Sherry Garland, illus. by Ted Rand

A Vietnamese immigrant tells his son how he learned to fish from his father.

Night Driving – John Coy,
illus. by Peter McCarty

A father and son drive into the night and watch for night animals, swap baseball stories, and keep a lookout for eighteen wheelers.

Papa's Stories – by Dolores Johnson

A little girl enjoys her father reading stories to her, but then discovers he's telling stories because he can't read.

Reading with Dad – by Richard Jorgenson,
illus. by Warren Hanson

A father and daughter share the power and joy of reading together from youth to old age.

The Wall – by Eve Bunting,
illus. by Ronald Himler

A little boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., to find the name of the boy's grandfather.

This book list was developed by the Minnesota Humanities Commission. Individuals contributing to the list were: Dan Dailey, The Five Owls; Pat Downs, Minneapolis Public Library; Tom Fitzpatrick, Minnesota Humanities Commission; Shelly Hawkins, Saint Paul Public Library; Roxie Markie, The Red Balloon Bookshop; Kathleen Moriarty, Minnesota Humanities Commission; Glen Palm, Saint Cloud State University; Todd Seabury-Kolod, Saint Paul Public Schools; Delene Thomas-Sanders, Minnesota Humanities Commission; Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library

Do you have a favorite book about dads and kids you'd like to add to this list? Send us your recommendation, with a short explanation of why you enjoy the book, and we just might post it on this page.