Dads Read Too

JER: “Knuffle Bunny”  by Mo Willems perfectly captures the challenges of parenting a toddler.  Everything seems to be going great, and then your toddler will turn to you and say: “AGGLE FLAGGLE KLABBLE!!!!”. They know full well what they want and what is wrong, but adults and toddlers don’t have a common language between them to coherently lodge complaints.  Parents are left scrambling to figure out the latest cryptic message. “Hmmmm, ‘Aggle’, could that mean she is hungry?  Oh no, I didn’t pack snacks!!?!? I knew I should have put that emergency beef stick in my pocket before we left.  But then again, ‘Flaggle’, does she think all those ‘snacks’ have gone to growing my tummy?!??”. Eventually, I am usually able to decipher the clues and fix the problem, but not until after many tears are shed.  That’s why this book hits close to home for me.

JER:   “Rude Cakes” by Rowboat Watkins is my latest favorite silly book, and not just because it was written by an author with the coolest name!  It began predictably with a “rude cake”, but then the story develops in completely unexpectedly delightful  Primary Theme: being considerate to others  Secondary Theme: karma catches up with you

JER:  “The Good Egg”  by Jory John and Pete Oswald is a follow-up to their previous book:  “The Bad Seed” .  When I realized they had made a "sequel", I couldn't help getting a bit nervous.  I loved "The Bad Seed" so much, I didn't want a lackluster follow-up to taint my high opinion of the original book.  But thankfully, I wasn't disappointed, and they complement each other well. What I love about both of these books is that the authors play around with the concept of being “GOOD” or “BAD”. When I started telling Mallory about “The Bad Seed”, she became concerned that she might not agree with what the book judged to be “BAD”. After all, history is full examples of society perpetuating viewpoints, creating laws, and punishing people for ideas, theories, or activities they thought were “BAD”, only to have society later decide those ideas, theories, or activities aren't BAD, and in some cases public opinion completely reverses and a majority of peo...

JER: “Not Quite Narwhal”  by Jessie Sima is all about self-awareness and discovery.  The protagonist - Kelp - struggles to figure out why he isn’t a very strong swimmer, and why he doesn’t seem to be like the other narwhals.  Eventually, Kelp journeys up onto the land after seeing a mysterious “land narwhal” on a cliff above the water.  Kelp realizes that he might actually be a “land narwhal”, or as he comes to find out, a “unicorn”.   I relate to this story in a small way.  I am the son of a Danish immigrant father and an American mother - who seems to have more Danish pride than my father.    I grew up with a lot of cognitive dissonance arising from “survival of the fittest” naked Capitalism and “American exceptionalism”.  I wasn’t able to fully understand that American culture may have been causing me some discomfort until I was able to live in Hong Kong for two years.  For once, I felt like I was surrounded by quiet, cons...