Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.
- Claude Monet
Dad Suggests was created to share with others the many different things that we have loved sharing with our own children.
Our hope is that - by reading or visiting our children’s bookstore - you will find something special to enjoy with your own family.
- Ryan
All in Kids Books
Julian Is a Mermaid is simply the ultimate champion of being yourself. I’ve never seen another book that teaches children to be true to themselves as well as this one. It also flies directly in the face of the arbitrary gender norms our kids might have already been exposed to and sets them up for a life of empathy, happiness, and confidence.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is a collection of 75 songs from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The songs are presented as a volume of poetry, and they’re beautifully illustrated and brought to life by Luke Flowers. And it’s basically the only parenting manual you will ever need.
These are the best picture books that teach colors. Illustrating a picture book must always be a challenge. But I imagine that illustrating a picture book about colors is a very special challenge in-and-of itself. You’re tasked with capturing the very essence of illustrations themselves.
Following your passions is vitally important. Khalida and the Most Beautiful Song is a picture book that teaches kids the importance of following your dreams and listening to your heart. It also comes with the added bonus of championing creativity and the arts in a world that tries to diminish their importance.
I must admit I personally have a soft spot for anything that champions the lost art of the high five. High Five is an interactive picture book that has truly sparked the imagination of our children. Get ready for the craziest and most serious high five competition you’ve ever seen.
The Little Green Girl by Lisa Anchin is a beautiful picture book that reminds me to truly appreciate the people that I love for who they are. It’s a reminder to celebrate what it is that makes them special. And it’s a wonderful tool for teaching empathy to our kids.
This style of reading aloud creates a much more engaging experience for everybody involved. If you start early with your little ones, you’re going to encourage a lifetime of thoughtful reflection and engagement with literature.
Let’s Have a Dog Party! is a perfect addition to our collection of books that can teach empathy to kids. But it is certainly more than just an empathy lesson - it’s also a beautiful story about love and friendship.
We are firm believers in the magic made while reading to your kids - not to mention how incredibly important it can be for a child’s development. While diapers may be a very useful and practical choice for a baby shower, I always make a point of including some of our favorite books as well.
Dragon Night by J. R. Krause is a beautiful, new picture book about friendship - and taking care of each other. And there are many reasons I’m very excited to add it to our collection of books that help pass empathy on to our children.
Bedtime for Frances is perfect because it does so many things well - primarily humor, fear, and a display of loving, patient parenting. It’s very hard to argue with the credentials of a book that legitimately shines in all three of these categories.
I think that spreading happiness is just about as noble a cause as you can come across these days. So I’m very excited to begin a series of articles titled How to Teach Empathy to Kids. The first book in this series is The Happy Book by Andy Rash - a very appropriately-named starting place.
I think there’s a very strong argument to be made that the entire birthday wish ritual is the coolest thing about a kid’s birthday party - because it’s certainly the most imaginative and magical part. And you know I’m all about a magical and imaginative childhood. That’s why I think it’s a fantastic idea to write a picture book entirely about the birthday wish.
The 10 books on this list make us very happy in our family - as can probably be expected with books about love. They are all a celebration of the peaceful and perfect feelings we feel when we are with the people that we love - and when we feel like we belong.
I really love it when the meaning you’re slowly uncovering in a picture book coincides with powerful feelings and emotions. I’m talking about meaning of life kind of stuff - love and loss and what it’s all about. The Fan Brothers recently came out with a picture book that does just that - Ocean Meets Sky.
Thanks to the new series of Harry Potter illustrated editions - illustrated by Jim Kay - we’ve actually hatched the perfect plan for introducing Harry Potter to our children.
We gathered together all of our favorite picture books from 2018 for the first annual Dad Suggests Kids Book Awards. We reminisced, we argued, we threw things, and we created the ultimate list to wrap up the year - The Top 10 Picture Books of 2018.
These are the best picture books to read on a snowy day. I have very vivid memories of books that we read as children that perfectly capture those feelings of snowy adventure and magic. This list contains several of those books, as well as many new ones that I hope will stay with my children for the rest of their lives.
