My Dad Used to Be so Cool
Flying Eye Books / Publishers Group Canada
By Keith Negley
48 pages
age 5 to 8
Synopsis from Publishers Group Canada:
Keith Negley’s playful and emotional art tells this story of a new father who is no longer the cool guy he once was. He looks back wistfully on his crazy times playing in a band, riding a motorcycle, and getting tattoos. Those days may be behind him, but his young son still thinks he’s the coolest guy in the world.
Our kids just see us as parents but stories shared about our youth can often paint a different picture. This week’s book for kids pick, the story My Dad Used to Be So Cool (affiliate link), shares a child’s perspective on his dad. It’s true, as parents we change, taking on new responsibilities of adult and parenthood. There are parts of our lives that are just stories and photos. The young boy in this story imagines his rock band, motorcycling father from his dad’s youth, wondering what has changed. But perhaps his dad is still cool, just more of a run around the park and slide down the slide with his son kind of cool.
I like how the illustrations in My Dad Used to Be so Cool transition everyday dad activities that the boy sees into a cooler action from his dad’s past. It’s also refreshing seeing the dad in an active parenting role, doing laundry, vacuuming and actually playing with his son in the park versus a passive observer role. Being active in our kids’ lives makes all parents cool in my book, but maybe I’m a little biased.
I also wrote about Keith Negley’s other great boy-positive book, Tough Guys Have Feelings Too. Two great additions for Father’s Day.
You can get an inside peek to this book in the following video review, published within our Picture Book playlist on our Youtube channel every Wednesday:
Additional Reading: My Dad at the Zoo.
You can find a copy of My Dad Used to Be So Cool (affiliate link) from Amazon, Publishers Group Canada or your local bookstore. Visit our Kid’s Books section for other great book recommendations.