One of my fondest childhood memories is my dad reading aloud to me before bed. I would curl up in my bed and my dad would sit next to me and read aloud.
His voice would take me on a journey with whatever book he had chosen.
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My father has a gift for voices and reading aloud. I have vivid memories Alfie’s house flooding, Pa Ingalls playing the violin for his girls, Eeyore’s birthday in the 100 acre wood, and creepy Golum and the talking Ents.
I see these evenings as the beginning of my lifelong love of reading, but I had never reflected on how rare and unique this gift might have been.
In a letter to John Coy, a student wrote, “I like two old potatoes because the little girl and the Dad are working together. And I like Night Driving because the boy is with his Dad.” John Coy has written several books with fathers as a central character, but when you stop and think about it quality children’s books about dads are rare.
As an early childhood educator, I am always working to help my students develop this love of reading. In college I found myself wondering about reading aloud and fathers because I knew how vital it was to my love of reading.
I ended up writing my thesis on John Coy and this importance of dads and reading. I won’t bore you with the detailed analysis, but I wanted to share some important things I learned.
Do Dads Impact Literacy?
The obvious answer is hopefully yes, but this is backed by research and personal accounts.
John Coy (2008) stated in a Star Tribune article, “Men must step up. Almost all the people telling boys about the importance of reading are female. More mothers read to their children than do fathers. More women visit libraries and buy books at bookstores. Boys hear they should read from female teachers and librarians. Most boys struggling to become men are skeptical if they are not hearing from men that reading is important” (para. 11-12).
My children spent their days at home with their mom from 0-age 5. Now they spend half the day in Kindergarten with a female teacher and a female reading specialist. I take my kids to the library where friendly female librarians help us find books.
Where are the men?
Who is showing my son that men do this reading thing too?
Fortunately when their dad gets home from work he helps our twin with homework. He often reads them a story before he tucks them into bed. He’s pretty awesome.
In Trelease’s incredible Read Aloud Handbook he describes that “The right call for fathers is to be involved intellectually as well as athletically with a child. If a child must wait until junior high or middle school before encountering a male in the act of reading, the idea that reading is for girls will already have taken deep root in his mind.”
also read: Families Preschool Story Time
Early experiences, as we all know, play a large role in shaping us. Shaping our future, our education, or understanding of the world.
I read an interview with the enchanting Jane Yolen who commented that, “My parents were both writers-and readers. My father was a reporter . . . my mother wrote short stories . . . I assumed that at night, they all went home and wrote. After all, that’s what my parents and their friends did.” This is true of most children, they know what they experience.
If kids see their dad or other men reading, that will be what they know.
Despite this, Dads read to their kids far less to their kids than Moms. Is there a way to change this?
How Can We Help Increase Dad Involvement?
Educators and librarians want to help and fix and educate everything and everyone. We obviously can’t, but we can make an impact. There are ways that teachers and librarians can impact father participation in literacy.
5 Ways to Invite Dads to Participate More
1. Host specific father / child days or events
Invite dads to participate in reading activities like story times, read alouds, and other literacy activities on special days devoted to them outside of Father’s Day. If it isn’t possible for them to come to the library or classroom, have special reading assignments, challenges, or fun things for a child to do specifically with their dad at home.
2. Include a hands on element
Research suggests that “fathers would engage in their children’s literacy development when given opportunities to do things that are interesting, this study demonstrated what approaches could work with fathers which different from those that have been used with mothers” (Saracho, 2008, p. 352). Provide a book and hands on activity.
3. Create literacy experience around father/child interests
What do the dads of your students or children like to do together already? How can you integrate reading into those activities? Maybe they like to build together. Can they write a list for the hardware store together? Read a dad and kid’s activity book and pick a project?
4. Read aloud books that show competent fathers.
When you are picking books to read aloud, consider how the dad is portrayed. My kids love the Berenstain Bears, but think for a second about how the dad is portrayed in those books. He’s often sillier and more incompetent than the children.
5. Have books available with a positive portrayal of Dads
Just like the books you read aloud, have even more available that also show fathers being just as competent as mothers in parenting their children. Some suggestions are included below.
When asked in an interview why she thought Owl Moon had become a classic, Jane Yolen responded “It is a sort of true story about David taking our daughter, Heidi, out owling. So it has all the closeness and wonder of the actual situation.” Indeed, children and fathers love the father-daughter relationship she portrays in Owl Moon.
In general, I think finding the right books is often key.
Are There Quality Books about Dads? How About Books for Boys?
I think when Jon Scieszka launched his website a couple decades ago the answer to this question was: only a few. If you pop over to Guys Read you’ll find alarming statistics about the difference between boys and girls when it comes to literacy and reading habits.
Although I see men on the subway every day with their noses in a book disproving this theory, the trend continues that women read significantly more than men. Could it be the books?
There was an interesting NPR article about why women read more than men. I thought the exception about Harry Potter was fascinating. More boys read Harry Potter than girls and often it was boys that did not previously read for fun. Those are some huge books to wade through for people who don’t typically read.
It is an interesting example of finding the right book for the right person.
I am a huge believer that boys and girls should not be pigeon holed into one thing or another simply because of their gender. If a boy wants to read Junie B or Matilda, he should. However, I don’t think we should ignore general interest trends either.
Jon Scieszka has a giant resource of good books for guys on his site, so I won’t waste time attempting to create a better one. Pop over if you are looking for books for boys. It is helpfully divided by topic and is impressively expansive.
I will however share some wonderful books about Dads for you to stock and share.
Quality Books about Dads
Look for books about dads that show real dads. Real dads with real relationships with their children. Real depictions of the range of dads.
There are some sweet ones specifically about dads and just how awesome they are. There are also a growing number of books that don’t fixate on their inclusion of dads, just depict real, honest, wonderful fathers in their text and illustrations.
I love having both around and here are our favorites.
Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy
Two Old Potatoes and Me is the story of a father and daughter who plant potatoes together and wait for them to grow. A gentle book about a relationship, divorce, and growth.
Night Driving by John Coy
In Night Driving, a boy and his father are driving through the night to the mountains. A simple story about a relationship, baseball, and road tripping.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
This award winning book follows a little girl and her dad into the forest on a crisp winter night to go owling. The story reads like poetry and the stunning illustrations perfectly capture their adventure.
Hero Dad by Melinda Hardin
A great book for kids with a dad in the military. (There is one about moms too). I love how it compares the dad to a superhero.
When Dad Says “I Love You” by Douglas Wood
This sweet book is about all of the ways Dads say ‘I Love You’ through their actions. The illustrations give this book a cozy, before bed feel and the message is wonderful.
Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too by Anna Dewdney
From the bestselling author of the Llama Llama books comes a darling story about a little girl gnu and her daddy. This is all about Nelly and her day with Daddy. It is a day full of building, creating, and imagining. A day with daddy has plenty of silliness, but mostly you close the book feeling like you got a big warm hug.
Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz
I love Karen Katz books for infants and toddlers. This is a sweet board book about a Daddy’s love. This is a perfect one for Daddy’s to read to their littles.
Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
I love this book for so many reasons but one of the big ones is for the diverse way that it displays childhood, parenting and families. While the book is not specifically about dads I love how it shows dads caring for, engaging with, and loving their little ones.
Going to the Zoo by Tom Paxton
Daddy, not Mommy, but Daddy is taking us to the zoo. Follow a Dad and his busy kids on their trip to the zoo. We love this book to sing and the positive, involved Dad is just one of the reasons.
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty, illustrated by Bryan Collier
This is heartbreakingly beautiful. Truly excellent father stories are so hard to find and this is one of the best I have read. It deals with the incarceration of a parent and in particular a black father so definitely not a light, fun read for every home or child but it is a truly touching book. It focuses on a little boy who has a wonderful relationship with his father until his father goes away and the son is left lost and missing his dad. Eventually he writes his dad a letter and the letter he gets in return brought tears to my eyes. It is not explained until the author’s note that his father has been incarcerated, rather focuses on the absence of a father who obviously still loves his child. Written with great heart and illustrated with creativity and texture, this is a book you shouldn’t miss.
Do you have a favorite book about Dads? Share it in the comments and I’ll check it out!
More Resources + Quoted Sources about Dads and Literacy
Clark, C. (2005). Father Involvement and Children’s Literacy Outcomes. Literacy Today. 14-15.
Colker, L. J. Family Involvement: A Key Ingredient in Children’s Reading Success [Online, accessed 2010, February 10]. Reading Is Fundamental, Retrieved from http://www.rif.org
Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Two Old Potatoes and Me [Online, accessed 2010, February 4]. Retrieved from www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc
Coy, J. (2003, June 12). Interview by Kerri Miller [Tape recording]. Dad’s Read, Minnesota Public Radio. [Online] Minnesota Public Radio Archive, http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org
Coy, J. (2008, July 14). John Coy: Girls have reading down, but boys are losing interest. Star Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com
Mackey, B & Mackey W. (2009). The Presence of the U.S. Father as an Enhancement for His Children’s Reading Achievement: Masculine Influence or a Second Parent? Reading Improvement 46 (2). 99-107.
Nielsen, L. Strengthening Father Daughter Relationships [Online, accessed 2010, February 2]. Retrieved from http://www.pta.org/2577.htm
Ortiz, R. W. (2001). Pivotal Parents: Emergent Themes and Implications on Father Involvement in Children’s Early Literacy Experiences. Reading Improvement 38 (3). 132-44.
Saracho, O. (2008). A Literacy Program for Fathers: A Case Study. Early Childhood Education Journal 35, 351-356.
Stile, S. & Ortiz, R. (1999). A Model for Involvement of Fathers in Literacy Development with Young At-Risk and Exceptional Children. Early Childhood Education Journal 26(4). 221-224.
Trelease, J. (2001). The Read-Aloud Handbook, 5th edition. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Yolen, J. (2008, March). Talking with Jane Yolen. Book Links, 17(4), 18-20.
Unpublished Materials from the Kerlan Collection at University of Minnesota:
Coy, John. Two Old Potatoes and Me, MF 2885
Coy, John. Correspondence, MF 3859
