cover image The Official Dad Book: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Being a Dad

The Official Dad Book: The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Being a Dad

Martha Bolton. Howard Books, $14.99 (168pp) ISBN 978-1-58229-367-7

This comic gift book uses cartoons, quotes and jokes to explore the ins and outs of fatherhood, with a soft emphasis on inspiration. Bolton begins with the first dad, Adam, whom she imagines may have been so confused by Eve's unprecedented pregnancy that he thought she'd eaten something she wasn't supposed to... again. Some of the quotations included here are serious and poignant: Frederick Douglass, for example, reflects that""it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."" Others are lighthearted, such as a quotation about how one of the most satisfying experiences in life is seeing one's children have teenagers of their own. Although the book has a well-executed layout, some of the illustrations seem childish and outdated in a""Family Circus"" kind of way. The final pages contain coupons for such things as undisputed access to the remote control for 24 hours and a free pass on mowing the lawn.