A Baby’s Guide to Surviving Dad
Series:  Baby Survival Guides
Written by Benjamin Bird
Illustrated by Tiago Americo
Capstone Young Readers    2/01/2016
978-1-62370-610-4
24 pages    6″ X 7″    Ages 0—3

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“HELLO, BABY.

“The whole life thing is pretty new to you, right? Luckily, you have a dad. Unluckily, he’s new to the whole being-your-daddy thing. So if you’re going to survive, you need to teach him a thing or two.” [back cover]

‘Early Reviews’
“I feel like I’ve been waiting for these books my whole life,” said Jason, a 14-month-old from Akron, OH. “I don’t know why you adults didn’t think of this sooner.”

“I can’t even read yet but the adorable illustrations make these books easy to understand, even for my parents,” said Bella, a 2-year-old from Santa Monica, CA. [PR release]

Review
There are baby books galore, just not for the baby. Surviving Dad is a humorous attempt to bridge the gap. Surviving Dad is funny. The narrator speaks directly to the baby, who can be any baby. There are six related skills baby needs to teach dad.

“Number One:  Changing Time
“When you grow up, people will tell you, ‘Practice makes perfect.’ This is true.
“Give your dad practice. Lots and lots of practice . . . ”

The illustrations enhance the text perfectly. Baby and dad are happily in the middle of a diaper change, but when, on the next page, the narrator emphasizes, “Lots and lots of practice . . . ” dad looks overwhelmed, while changing his son’s diaper for what looks like the gazillionth time. Baby happily smiles. Skill Number Two, refers you back to number one. A funny joke kids and adults will laugh at (or groan, roll their eyes, and chuckle).

Each numbered skill is hilariously devoted to an everyday occurrence with a baby:  Changing diapers, feeding time, playing, bathing, and bedtime. The baby is adorable. He has cute little pink cheeks, a beautiful smile—even when turned upside down—, and his eyes are expressive. Dad wears a yellow checked shirt with black, too short slacks, and red Converse® shoes. With his red knit cuff hat and beard, Dad looks like a skinny, tech-savvy, lumberjack, and yet, dad perfectly complements his son.

The illustrations are humorous and the text is witty. Whether babies will get any actual use out of this survival guide has yet to be determined, but parents will love it, especially new parents. Surviving Dad would make a great baby shower gift—for dad. There is another Baby Survival Guide book for baby and mom. I believe more are on the way, possibly to survive aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

When I first saw the advanced reader copy of Surviving Dad, it didn’t look like much, but once I opened it up, it won me over. If A Baby’s Guide to Surviving Mom is as clever and cute as Surviving Dad, this series is in for many print runs. Humorous illustrations . . . clever text . . . adorable characters . . . written for both babies and parents . . . A Baby’s Guide to Surviving Dad has it all.

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A BABY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING DAD. Text copyright © 2016 by Benjamin Bird. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Tiago Americo. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Capstone Young Readers, North Mankato, MN.

Purchase A Baby’s Guide to Surviving Dad at Amazon—Book Depository—IndieBound Books—Apple Books—Capstone.

Find A Baby’s Guide to Surviving Dad on Goodreads HERE.
Curious Fox Publishes the Baby Survival Guides in the UK. Find them HERE.

Meet the author, Benjamin Bird, at his website:  http://bit.ly/BenjaminBird-Scribd
Follow the author on Twitter
Meet the illustrator, Tiago Americo, at his/her website:  http://tiagoamerico.com/
Follow the artist on Twitter      @tiagoamerico
Find more books at the Capstone Young Readers website:  http://www.capstonepub.com/
Follow the publisher on Twitter      @CapstoneYR
.         . Capstone Young Readers is an imprint of Capstone.

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Images: A BABY’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING DAD. Illustrations © 2016 by Tiago Americo. Used by permission of Capstone Young Readers.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

Full Disclosure: A Baby’s Guide to Surviving Dad by Benjamin Bird & Tiago Americo, and received from Capstone Young Readers, (an imprint of Capstone), is in exchange NOT for a positive review, but for an HONEST review. The opinions expressed are my own and no one else’s. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”