A Book Dad’s Year in Review

I took over BookDads.com from the previous site managers in April not really knowing much at all about what I was doing or even having any clear vision of where I wanted things to go. The only thing I felt confident in was the knowledge that I did want to add more depth to the site by focusing on the positive role dads play in literacy and the strong connection dads form with their children through reading aloud to them.

After a slow start to the first few months, things really started to come together in August and when we started to post daily in November things really took off. It's been fun to see the progression of where I started and how much has changed in just 8 months. From starting this without a clue to having a real vision is something I'm really proud of and I want to thank all of you for coming along for the ride. I look forward to a busy 2011 for Book Dads!

I saw this real cool end-of-the-year book survey on the Perpetual Page Turner's blog. Here is my adapted version of her survey.

* Favorite Read Aloud

I'm always reading new books to my daughter and finding lots of great read-alouds so this is a hard choice. No matter what we read though, we always come back to the fantastically funny We Are In A Book by Mo Willems. It's even more fun to read now that we have the stuffed Elephant & Piggie dolls you see to the left!

* Favorite Illustrations from a Kid's Book

This was so hard to choose so I am picking three but I could have picked ten: The Butt Book (illustrated by Mike Lester), Eight Days (illustrated by Alix Delinois) and Goal! (illustrated by A.G Ford). Honorable mention to Of Thee I Sing (illustrated by Loren Long), which would have made the cut except I wasn't a fan of the Sitting Bull illustration.

* Favorite Parenting/Fatherhood Book

Even though I didn't do the review for Daddy Teller, I had a PDF copy of it and read it anyway. I'm so glad I did because it was very much worth the extra time and effort. Mike's review of it is spot on as well.

* Most Thought Provoking Book

This book will be a repeat for several of this survey's categories: Good Girls Don't Get Fat by Dr. Robyn Silverman. As I mentioned in my review, this is probably the most important book I've read as a father.

* Most Hilarious Book(s)

I read just about all of Sugar Milk: What One Dad Drinks When He Can't Afford Vodka over the course of a week while in the car. It was during this stretch of time when my daughter revised to nap and would only fall asleep if I was driving. Around 1 p.m. every day I would get Tessa in the car and bring along my book. Ron Mattocks' book was the first book I completed during this time while sitting in some parking lot or even in my driveway.

The Butt Book is just pure hilarity and fun for both kids and adults! It's laugh out loud funny and if you want even more fun, watch Artie read his book to a classroom of kids.

* Most Unputdownable Book(s)

I went away for a weekend with my family and brought along Mitali Perkin's Bamboo People. Before the weekend was done I had finished the book. It's a compelling and wonderful read. I have no doubt that if I was single with no children, I'd have read the book from cover to cover but those days are long behind me.

* Book That Had the Biggest Impact Personally in 2010

Again it's Good Girls Don't Get Fat by Dr. Robyn Silverman for this as well. Nothing I've read since becoming a father has made me think more about how I interact with my daughter than this book. This book will be a well-used reference for years to come.

* Biggest Surprises (in a good way)

To clarify, the books I'm mentioning here weren't surprises in the vein of I didn't think they would be good or I wouldn't enjoy them. The surprise came at the big impact they had on me while reading and the impression I walked away with when I was done. With Yummy: The Last Days Of A Southside Shorty, I was simply blown away by the powerful questions asked in this graphic novel. With Hannah and the Talking Tree, I was blown away by the multitude of positive messages for young girls in this story. These are worthy additions to your home, school and community libraries.

* Book(s) I Recommend the Most

These recommendations come about usually as a result of my work as a volunteer instructor with the local Expectant Parent's Organization. I always recommend Dad Labs Guide to Fatherhood to each of my classes for both moms and dads to read. I also recommend The Family Book quite often to parents I meet who are adopting children or to same-sex couples as well. This is a fantastic book for those families in my opinion. You could have probably guessed that I would include Good Girls Don't Get Fat by Dr. Robyn Silverman on this list as well. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is a must read for dads of girls.

* Favorite New Authors I Discovered in 2010

I can't say enough good things about Mina Javaherbin. I love her books (Goal! and The Secret Message) and one of the highlights of my year was talking with Mina for an hour on the phone. She's a wonderful person and I'm proud to be one of her groupies!

A few months ago I received an e-mail from Terry Lynn Johnson asking if Book Dads would review her book. I could tell from Terry's e-mail that she knew about Book Dads, and I could tell she thought her book might be a great fit for our site. After reading her book, I'm so glad she sought us out because her portrayal of a young girl dreaming about becoming a champion dogsledder is a perfect fit for Book Dads. I'm honored she chose us and look forward to reading more of her books.

* Favorite Book-Related Blog(s)

There's no way I can pick just one. Or two. Or even three. I've met so many great people through Book Dads and it's made all the hard work so rewarding. To get a glimpse of some of my favorites, visit my Community page. I know it's kind of a cop out, but in all seriousness, I appreciate all the feedback, conversations and work each and every one of those people do on their sites.

* Best Book Dads Moments

Again I can't pick just one so here's a short list of great Book Dads moments:

- I mentioned it above but talking with Mina Javaherbin was just awesome.

- Interviewing and getting to know Mrs. P was a huge thrill! I love her site and her book, but I also appreciate her taking the time to talk with me. She was so down-to-earth and I hope I get the opportunity to speak with her again.

- I still get a rush of excitement when I see an author personally respond to a review either in the comments, on twitter or through e-mail. That will never get old and having authors like Todd Parr, Mo Willems, Deborah Diesen, Artie Bennett, Eric Delabarre, Dr. Robyn Silverman, Monica Kulling and a whole host of others take the time to express their appreciation for reviewing their book makes this so much fun.

* Special Shout-Outs

- To all of my Book Dads contributors: Thank you for your efforts and for participating. I appreciate it so much.

- Eric Delabarre (Author of Saltwater Taffy) - Not only is Eric a terrific author but he's an incredible person. Eric has personally given away and delivered thousands of copies of his book to children in need around the country. He's done all this with little to none media exposure or fanfare. Thanks so much to Eric for giving the gift of reading to all those children! (Read more about this on his blog: MIDDLE GRADE FICTION: THE BIG GIVEAWAY)

- To Read Aloud Dad and Eric Van Raepenbusch: These guys are my book blogger brothers-in-arms and I'm so glad to have gotten to connect with them and know them. We share a love of reading and literacy with our kids and it's great to see these two dads share that passion. I get a lot of inspiration from their blog posts and look forward to seeing more from them in 2011.