This just in. It's another classic Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, illustrated by Ron Barrett. The Dads visit the town of Chewandswallow. Your read that right--one word, one giant word.

It's a super fun book in which the weather is SPOILER ALERT!! not raining men, but raining food! Sound delicious? It most certainly is, but casual listener, do not fear. Problems arise, conflicts unfold, and a mild discomfort rears its ugly head (cheese), yum!. (Head cheese? I,d rather eat a tuna and peanut butter sandwich)

There are so many fun things, great details, and all the plot twists. AND! Fun, detailed artwork in a new palette: RY or Red Yellow. And details you spend a lap time with your child discovering.

If you liked this episode, check out these:

Underground by David Macaulay
How Martha Saved her Parents from Green Beans by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mark Fearing

Lisa Desimini, one of our fun illustrator/author conversations

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsor us while you're there).)

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

Here’s part two of our wonderful conversation with Victoria Kann. author of the newly released Snickerdoodle and the absolute classic Pinkalicious, as well as many of its sequels and spinoffs.

Last week we talked about snickerdoodle, which by the way it was published last week! Check it out! We also talked about Pinkalicious, Purplicious, and many more. the spinoff

This week we start off with Peteriffic and dive deeper into the history of Victoria’s art in the beginning of her career as a graphic designer and how it lead to her current work and style.

She tells what it was like to work with animators—not to give it away, but “interesting” and “exciting” may have been used.

It was a fun and enlightening conversation, and we look forward to more !

If you liked this episode, you’ll love these:

Pinkalicious, where it all started. For us. And Victoria. The original origin story.

Check out our other author interviews:

Dan Gutman
Dan Yaccarino
Chris Grabenstein
Alan Katz
Linda Harkey
Lisa Desimini

And now a word from our sponsors. Well, not really sponsors, just places we like to get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one:

Our traveling feature of the month:
The Library Hotel and Bookmarks Rooftop Lounge in New York City where we met some or authors. Beautiful and fun and book themed. Check it Out.
Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
Talking Animals Books in Grapevine, TX
River Forest Public Library in River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library in Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library in Keller, TX

Don’t live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth or Chicago areas? Tell us about your favorite library or independent book store in your town. Do you have questions, comments, concerns, or the best Dad Joke ever:

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

We have yet another author guest! It’s Victoria Kann, yes, she of Pinkalicious fame!

We talk about the Pinkalicious origin story (spoiler alert: April Fools!) and how she came up with the title’s design. Victoria talks about her early days as a freelance graphic design artist: a collage of work, if you will. And as always, we talk about her illustration techniques. And, as always, it’s very cool.

We talk about her latest book Snickerdoodle which is published the day after this episode drops! Yes, Victoria shares the origin story. Lots of origin stories in this one! She asked the question, “What if”—sorry. You’re going to have to listen. It’s really fun.

And details? You like details? So many interesting details about her thank yous in her books. And we explore the tremendous amount of wonderful details in the illustrations that we’ve noticed, discovered, rediscovered, and, most importantly, shared with our girls as we read and enjoyed Victoria’s books with them over the years. We hope you will too!

We had such a great time with Victoria and while we weren’t surprised it didn’t make it any less awesome.

If you liked this episode, you’ll love these:

Pinkalicious, where it all started. For us. And Victoria. The original origin story.

Check out our other author interviews:

Dan Gutman
Dan Yaccarino
Chris Grabenstein
Alan Katz
Linda Harkey
Lisa Desimini

And now a word from our sponsors. Well, not really sponsors, just places we like to get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one:

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
Talking Animals Books in Grapevine, TX
River Forest Public Library in River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library in Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library in Keller, TX

Don’t live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth or Chicago areas? Tell us about your favorite library or independent book store in your town. Do you have questions, comments, concerns, or the best Dad Joke ever:

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

It’s Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard, illustrated by James Marshall and Mike and David take a trip back to their childhood, OK not their childhood but at least the era of their childhood. While neither read it as kids, but one of them may have read it to their kids. You must listen to find out.

The book is kind of clever, silly, fun, and even a bit dated, but in a good way like a good old classic. Is Miss Nelson missing? Will they ever find her? And if so, will she be changed or will she be the same Miss Nelson who we fell in love with a little bit from the very beginning? Intrigue and suspense. Just read it to find out.

This book has everything. There’s a lovely teacher, horribly behaving kids, really fun illustrations, mathematics, sharks (very unpleasant), and Mars. It’s a fun read especially to read with and to young kids.

And Dad Jokes. Many Dad Jokes.

If you liked this episode, check out these:

Underground by David Macaulay

Lisa Desimini, one of our fun illustrator/author conversations

Shrek because of fun illustrations and the hairs of our chinny chin chins

Future episodes: No, David and The Stupids

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsor us while you're there).)

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

It’s only our second graphic novel, and boy was it graphic! And novel. And second! It’s The Secret Coders written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Mike Holmes, the first in a six-book educational graphic novel collection.

Mike and David bring on the cowbell for the first time. And the last?

It's educational. (Just a little. Just a bit of coding. It’s basic. Not Basic.) It’s a mystery! The Mystery of the Black Squirrel? Nope. The Murder Grounds of the Dead Horse? Neigh. But there is mystery. And intrigue. And subterfuge. If anyone knows what that last one means, please email us.

And the story? A mother drops her daughter off at a creepy, haunted-looking boarding school. It’s her first day. At a new school. It won’t be her last... Well actually, we don’t know that for sure as the entire book takes place in one day. And there are six books. Hmmm. 6 days? Consecutive days?

Mike and David are huge fans of Gene Luen Yang's protagonist Hopper, a relatable, feisty yet vulnerable girl and her new friend Eni. (Oh, don't forget the little turtle robot dude). They stumble upon a mystery, seek to solve it, make some discoveries, which only creates more questions. Only five more books to figure it all out.

Graphic novel awesomeness, from illustrator Mike Holmes. The illustrations are classic with different points of view and perspectives, shadows, light, foreboding, four bearings, intriguingly coded chapter headings, meaningful captions like, “This is when we started changing into what we would actually become.” Whoa...

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Mike and David, shockingly, take a detour down memory lane to their first data memories. David talks about programming in Basic on a TRS 80 and storing the data on a cassette. Mike is all, “Hold my beer.” His dad brought home a stack of WHAT? Wait for it... Punch cards! What's that about hanging chads?...

And the Dan jokes? There’s a plenty. And about computers. But you'll have to be patient. They take a while to process.

If you liked this episode, check out these:

Our first (and other) graphic novel: El Deafo by Cece Bell

R. L. Stine’s Monster Slime, another good mystery and available as a graphic novel

Our author interview with Dan Gutman

Amelia and the Babysitter because we mentioned it. And it’s a fun take on babysitting. Again with the whatever.

Future Episodes: More graphic novels!!

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsor us while you're there).

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

In this episode, Mike and David decided to go to another B2 BB episode, a.k.a. Back to Board Books with I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen. It’s a cute, fun book and David figured out that it was a SPOILER ALERT!—bear. Whaaaaat? I know right!!

There all kinds of fun animal illustrations: animals being curious and animals being nice and even animals being helpful. And the mystery of the missing hat which, of course, the bear wants back! And FOREshadowing? ForeSHAdowing you ask? There’s all kinds of foreshadoWING. With foreshadowing here, and foreshadowing there, here a foreshadowing, there a foreshadowing, everywhere a ForeSHAdowing, FOREshadowing. And like old McDonald, it's a really fun book with illustrations that are not as simple and straightforward as you think. You’ve been warned! And wasn’t too hard to find Dad Jokes for this one. Animals everywhere! And FORESHADOWING...

If you liked this episode, check out these:

One of our favorite books starring animals? The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton

A parade of really cool animals? Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Earsby Verna Aardema

For Dad Jokes and other fun stuff, check out our two part discussion with the hilarious and talented Alan Katz and his book The Funniest Joke Book Ever for Kids

Future Episodes: Eric Carle books!!

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsors us while you're there).

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

Did you know that Shrek! was based on a book called Shrek!? Neither did we. And not just any book, but a book called Shrek! And Mike was all, "we totally have to read this book one day." Well kids, today is the day... Well, it’s not the day that we read it—that was a few days ago... And this is not the day that we recorded it—that was also a few days ago. But TODAY is the day that the episode about the book and about the movie based on the book that inspired the episode drops. Well, not today, unless you listen on 8.16.26. This is the day that you are listening to the episode that dropped on that day that we recorded after we read the book, well after watching the movie it was based on.

Mike and David both saw the movie but don’t remember much about it. But we do know this: the book is a lot of fun. There’s Shrek, who is more disgusting and vile than any creature depicted in cartoon world. There’s all kinds of fun rhythms as it goes back-and-forth and back-and-forth and hither and yon. It’s silly, random, whacky, and, as Mike put it, “a mixture of rhymey timey thingies and stuff that doesn’t.” There’s even a knight who smotes! And a hall of mirrors! Such a fun book. Check it out.

If you like monsters and scary stuff: R. L. Stine’s Monster Blood
And there’s a lot of monsters and scary stuff in Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaires’s Book of Greek Myths.

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com

In a very special back to school episode, the Dads discuss I Need a NEW BUTT! (Originally published in the U. K. as I Need a New Bum, but America!) by Dawn McMillan. Probably not found on many Summer Reading Lists, butt enjoyable none the less. Also this is the Dads’ first battery powered book, which gets to 88mph in no time and takes the Dads on a trip down memory lane and going back in time to the past with a deep discussion of the wonderful song Huey Lewis and the News's “I Need a New (Drug) Butt!” And we paraphrase.

Butt we digress. Enjoy the butt jokes. And the puns, toot. And them dern toot noises. And the euphemisms. Sorry, boyz will b boyz, a.b.c. D.M.P. There's whole lotta laughin’ goin’ on.

And, how did they like the book? Let’s just say David shows his before Mike shows his. Mike gets into his busta rhymes rewriting the rhymey rhymes, cuz that's how he chimes.

If you’d love this episode, you’ll love these, toot.

Dr. Seuss’ Fox in Socks
Alan Katz, parts one and two

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

Books in Stock in Wooster, OH

A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!

Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com