12 Children's Picture Books About Dads for Father's Day

Author:
Carolyn Augustine
Updated:
Jan 17, 2023

12 Children's Picture Books for Father's Day

These Father's Day-themed children's picture books are a great way to celebrate the bond between children and their dads. These recommended selections would be great for a children's story hour, preschool circle time, or for lap-reading with dear old dad himself, especially if it comes with breakfast in bed and a great big hug!

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My Dad by Susan Quinn

A read-aloud rhyming story that lists all the reasons why a boy loves his dad. The dad in this story loves gardening, baking cookies, and flying kites. He is an engaged father who puts his son to bed, reads to him, plays with him, and teaches him new things. He even teaches a few important life lessons, by making mundane chores like going to the store seem like lots of fun. Reviews of this book about a modern father raved about the stereotype-busting nature of the father depicted in this story.

Papasaurus by Steven Lomp

Babysaurus loses track of his father during a game of hide and seek. As he walks through the jungle, asking the other dinos if they have seen his dad, he tells each of them something about his papa. Even though baby thought he lost his dad, his papa was way too big to lose! This is a satisfying story with a simple plot for older toddlers and younger preschoolers, with pages full of cute dinosaurs.

My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña

Daisy Ramona waits anxiously for her father to return from his day working as a carpenter so they can take their daily motorcycle ride around their neighborhood in this ebullient realistic fiction picture book. Daisy and her Papi love this special ritual. Daisy describes joyously just how much she enjoys being with her father while seeing all the familiar sights and sounds and smells of her beloved immigrant neighborhood. Their motorcycle ride usually includes a stop at a shaved ice shop and a trip to abuela's house. This book is written in English with a heavy smattering of Spanish, making this a great SEL or bilingual read. This book is written for ages 5-7 and recommended for second grade and up.

Tad and Dad by David Ezra Stein

Little Tad's dad is everything a young tadpole could wish for. He burps, swims, catches flies, and even lets tad sleep with him on his lily pad. Unfortunately for Tad's dad, that means he's not getting a good night's sleep. As the story progresses, Tad progresses from a tiny tadpole to a smaller frog version of his dad, gaining confidence and skills through each page. The gentle humor in this story is heartwarming and funny, and parents and kids will relate to the non-human characters in this book.

My Dad by Anthony Browne

Dad can do EVERYTHING in British author Anthony Browne's tribute to fathers. He is strong as a gorilla, happy as a hippo, he can walk tightrope on the laundry line (and not fall off). He is as wise as an owl and daft as a brush. Oops, I think the child in this story heard mom say that! This book is a short read with humorous pictures and an over-the-top tribute to a dad that can do many things, real and imagined. This book is written and paced well for preschoolers.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

The 1988 Caldecott Medalist about a young child and her father going on a night-time adventure to hunt for owls in the snow is a lyrical and beautifully illustrated work of art. Here is an opportunity to get kids excited about being outdoors, while celebrating the bond between fathers and their children. In this story, a young child experiences discomfort in the frigid icy night, while developing a deep reverence for the sights and sounds of the natural world in winter. This realistic fiction piece has a magic all of its own, and begins with a lyric description of the snowy winter's night. A captivating read for Kindergarten and up.

And the moon was so bright, the sky seemed to shine. Somewhere behind us, a train whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song.

— Jane Yolen, Owl Moon

Made for Me by Zack Bush and Gegorio De Lauretis

Written in rhyming couplets, this story is narrated by a doting father whose world has been changed by the arrival of a son. The illustrations in this story steal the show, picturing a giant red-headed man built like a lumberjack, with hairy arms and a bright blue baseball cap. This book may appeal to young preschoolers, since it talks about milestones reached in babyhood, like walking, talking, and eating.

Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle

One of Eric Carle's more recently-published books, this one features dads in the ocean as they care for their offspring in a variety of fascinating ways. Cutaway spaces in the book pages create an underwater illusion that is both clever and mesmerizing. This one is a must-read for the month of June, and takes a look at one of the unique fathers in the deep blue ocean.

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The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson and Jonathan Bean

This book draws inspiration from the popular folk rhyme, The House that Jack Built. And the beautiful black, brown, and red ink illustrations give this book about a girl, her father, and the pie he baked, a jubilant tone you will want to read again and again. This book is a pleasing read-aloud for preschool storytime and circle time. But even if you don't plan to use it for this purpose, I recommend it for the fine-art quality woodcut artwork in this book.

Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer

Some books never go out of style. Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer is just one of many stories in the Little Critter series. These books are about a family of critters and the humorous mishaps they encounter together as a family. In this story, Little Critter goes on a camping trip alone with dad. Despite all of the problems they have, they end up having a wonderful time bonding together. These books enjoy widespread popularity and are loads of fun to read.

I Love My Daddy by Sebastien Braun

I Love My Daddy by Sebastien Braun is another beautiful gift book for fathers about the simple ways a father nurtures his young children. Simple phrases like "My daddy washes me, My Daddy feeds me. My Daddy cuddles me." each have a related illustration featuring a father bear and his cub.

Daddy Cuddles by Ann Gutman

This very short board book appropriate for young toddlers features baby animals cuddling with their fathers. This book is part of a series, and several of the other titles would work for a story hour about fathers. The illustrations are colorful with strong lines, yet tender too.

Comments

Melodie Tegay on June 24, 2019:

Having recently celebrated both Mother's Day and Father's day, I enjoyed seeing some recommended holiday picture books on the website. However, I feel I must point out that a very large portion of these children's picture books are somewhat irrelevant to the life experiences of many of today's children. As a retired public school teacher who taught primary grades for 33 years, I observed that just about 50% of my students were not living in these "Sally, Dick, and Jane" nuclear intact family. Many of the children did not go home to two biological parents for a variety of reasons, ranging from being raised in a single parent home,or splitting their days between two parents who were separated or divorced, or "never married" biological Moms and Dads who were actively co-parenting; or even living in a household led by a relative other than a parent. Father's and Mother's Day celebrations or activities create awkward times for these children who might find it difficult to acknowledge that they might not need to write a card or invite a mom or dad to school if they did not have one at home. On the other hand, it might be be equally uncomfortable if they had both a step-parent AND a biological parent and have to choose between them or acknowledge both on these special occasions.

Feeling a need to provide and validate the feelings of the children whose life situation was more diverse than those pictured in most of these story books; I wrote a children's picture book-"Hannah's Two Homes: life in a "blended" family; a 5 year old's perspective.

Meet Hannah who is living between her two parents' homes while simultaneously trying to fit into the dynamics of her two newly reformulated family structures involving step-parents, half-brothers and half-sisters and the differences,therein, created in part by the inter-faith celebrations of both Jewish and Christian holidays. She tells her story "in her own voice", in simple sentence structures, easy-to-read vocabulary, printed in a large, bold font ideal for either reading to oneself or sharing as a read-aloud to the younger child. Moreover, a teacher or therapist could use this book as a tool or springboard to inspire interactive discussion of a child's concerns growing up in such a scenario. It is a story of hope, optimism, and ultimately the healing power of love. I would certainly love to hear from teachers, social workers, or therapists who might like to discuss this topic further.

Kenneth Avery from Hamilton, Alabama on June 09, 2018:

Carolyn -- exquisitve writing. Wonderful. Especially

the "Apple Pie that Papa Baked." That one is right

up my alley.

Please continue to share writing gems like this one.

Kenneth

Better Living on January 17, 2013:

Thanks for the suggestions. I can't wait to read some of these!