Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my head is bursting with it.
- Claude Monet
Dad Suggests was created to share with others the many different things that we have loved sharing with our own children.
Our hope is that - by reading or visiting our children’s bookstore - you will find something special to enjoy with your own family.
- Ryan
These are the very best Halloween picture books. One of the best times to set the Halloween mood is during story time. Typically we pack up our holiday-specific books with the decorations, but never the Halloween ones! These books are too special.
These are the best cooperative board games for 5-year-olds. We think it’s helpful to be able to share our strategies and logic with the little ones. And playing cooperatively with a common mission is a great way to introduce children to the whole point of playing board games - to have fun.
These are the top 25 movies I can’t wait to share with my kids. This is a different kind of movie list. This is a waiting list. When your children aren’t old enough to watch some of the best movies ever made, the next best thing to do is put them into a list and ponder the movies you’ll show them as soon as possible.
The Halloween Kid is a very special Halloween picture book by Rhode Montijo. It does a remarkably good job celebrating Halloween and bringing up powerful feelings of nostalgia surrounding the holiday. It should go down as a Halloween classic.
Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters is a fantastic family board game that reminds us of playing Luigi’s Mansion - and it makes us happy for many of the same reasons. The artwork and the ghost figurines are very high-quality, and cooperating with the family in a haunted house is a true pleasure.
These are the best jokes for kids. Jokes are actually really good for us - both emotionally and mentally. And they’re particularly good for the growing brains of our kids.
These are the very best ways to use Amazon Echo devices with kids and families. Alexa has a lot of skills for kids and families now, and many of them happen to focus on literacy and imagination. Discover how the Echo can provide hours of entertainment for your children.
Should you let your kids win in a game of skill? Is it better parenting to do your best when playing against your children, or to go easy on them? Have you ever had a despondent child state that they don’t want to play a game anymore because they never win? What should a parent do?
These are our very favorite picture books with life lessons. The best picture books take incredibly important life lessons and isolate them down into a completely accessible, beautiful, compact work of art. They expose children to new thoughts and feelings and allow them to process it at their own level.
Pink is for Boys is a picture book by Robb Pearlman that throws absurd societal norms about colors out the window. It also teaches equality among boys and girls - the activities they're allowed to do and the things they're allowed to like. This is a picture book you simply must share with your kids.
Mole Rats in Space - a cooperative family board game by Matt Leacock and Peaceable Kingdom - definitely inspires us to use our imagination and do a little role playing. These mole rats are in space? We better put on our astronaut costume!
These are the very best picture books of all time. These amazing stories provide me with feelings like hope, feelings like love, and feelings like terror. It is a parent's noble honor to help a child experience magic like this during their childhood, and these kids books will help.
These are the best riddles for kids. Riddles and jokes are naturally appealing to kids. They're like little puzzles for their imagination that can boost their confidence and allow them to explore being silly with language for the first time.
These are the very best scary picture books for kids. Making a legitimately spooky picture book that's still suitable for kids is not necessarily an easy task. Nor is it always easy to find picture books for kids that actually enjoy being a little scared. But the books on this list bring legitimate frights for your family.
Julia's House for Lost Creatures is a picture book by Ben Hatke that had me sold on the title page. You can immediately tell that this is going to be a story full of fantasy and heart - and that it’s going to be beautiful.
Pee-wee’s Playhouse stands the test of time and remains a television show that you should absolutely still share with your kids today. Pee-wee’s sincerity and passion shine through - much like it did with the wonderful Mister Rogers.
Is it bad parenting to let your kids play with smartphones during dinner? Is it okay to occupy them with screens in public when they are bored and potentially disruptive? It’s certainly common practice these days, but are there drawbacks?
This is Sadie by Sara O’Leary is a triumphant celebration of the child’s imagination. It’s one of our very favorite picture books. The artwork by Julie Morstad really stands out during the series of beautiful pages celebrating famous children's literature.
