My Dad's the Coolest by Rosie Smith and Bruce Whatley

Since Father's Day is just around the corner in Australia, I thought I'd look at another one of our favourite Dad books: My Dad's the Coolest.

Maximilian gave this book to his Dad as a Father's Day present last year. I like to give picture books to adults as gifts because it creates a wonderful excuse and opportunity for parent and child to spend some time together. And it's always nice to receive presents that tell you how cool you are!!

Like Some Dads, each page of this book features a different animal Dad and child and simple text about why that Dad is the coolest. I like this book because of the great range of animals it features, from the obvious (brave lion) to the bizarre (funny puffer fish). It is also a great celebration of the father-child bond and of the fun that all different kinds of dads have with their children.

My Dad's the Coolest has plain coloured pages with just a few words of text and facing pages with animal illustrations, again on plain coloured background. This is a really simple book, which is a refreshing change from the really busy, detailed full page illustrations in many picture books. Bruce Whatley's illustrations are terrific, and each picture shines with the love between the dad and child. If you haven't seen this book, it really is worth a look. With only a very small amount of text, My Dad's the Coolest is also suitable for even the youngest baby to enjoy reading with their dad.

If you are keen to get this book as a gift for the cool Dad in your child's world, I have also just found this awesome gift pack which includes the book My Dad's the Coolest in a mini hardback edition and a drink cooler - how cool is that?!? (Thought I'd throw in a dad joke there to finish with!)

Some Dads... by Nick Bland

This is one of the best books about Dads that I've come across.

Sadly, many Dad books feature crude humour like farting and burping or narrow gender stereotypes like sports and cars, which I find pretty offensive really.

Some Dads... is different, and I love it. Each page features an animal dad and child engaging in an activity of some kind, such as skiing, swimming, playing Wii, or throwing water bombs.

The back of the book says this book "brilliantly captures the simple joys all dads bring to everyday life" and I couldn't agree more.

There is a real sense of fun throughout this book, with dads and their children enjoying each other's company. My personal favourite is the rocking Rhino dad Elvis impersonator with baby rhino banging on pots and pans!!

The text in Some Dads... is really very short - each page has only one sentence of text, so the whole book is only a few paragraphs. This makes it a really quick book to read aloud, but rhyme is used to good effect.

The painted illustrations are just marvellous and the double spread artwork rewards close inspection as there is so much detail in the pictures. There is also humour and surprises to be found in the illustrations that both parents and children will enjoy, so the illustrations are a great discussion point whilst reading with your child.

At the heart of this book is the love between a dad and their child and the fun and pride they share - it is a really nice message told in a way that is sincere and fun without being schmaltzy.

This means Some Dads... would be a terrific book to give to a Dad for Father's Day - Maximilian's dad has had many hours enjoyment reading this one with him, and I think there is a special thrill when your child chooses a book for you to read which is about you!