Because I'm Your Dad

Description

In a text that's both playful and loving, a father expresses his hopes and dreams for a one-of-a-kind relationship with his child. Whimsical monster characters bring the silly and sweet scenes to life and keep the book universal. The book's ending, a moving tribute to the author's father - musician Frank Zappa - guarantees intergenerational appeal.

Ahmet Zappa is the son of late rock musician/composer Frank Zappa and, as he puts it, "My awesome mother, Gail." Because I'm Your Dad is both a tribute to his happy childhood and a promise to his daughter, Halo. Ahmet grew up with a learning disability and now writes books to help children discover how wonderful reading can be. Through his production company, Monsterfoot Productions, Ahmet has developed several television shows and movies, including "The Odd Life of Timothy Green", and he has also collaborated on the Star Darlings chapter book series. He lives in Los Angeles. Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Are We There Yet? and After the Fall, as well as the illustrator of many other picture books, including Drawn Together and Lift by Minh Le, The Alphabet's Alphabet by Chris Harris, No More Poems! by Rhett Miller, and Crankenstein by Samantha Berger. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets. His website is dantat.com.

"A rowdy catalogue of Dad moments gets enacted by a creature who resembles a green '60s-era Nauga monster and his purple (gender-neutral) offspring, in this picture book from the son of the late Frank Zappa (and a father himself).... Throughout, Zappa and Santat maintain an entertaining balance between sweet and goofy, protective and raucous."--Publishers Weekly "Unbashed sentimentality dominates the text in this loving promise from a father to his children.... Zappa wrote this story for his daughter, and it overflows with genuine fatherly affection that he would like to pass on, since his father (avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa) did the same for him."--Kirkus Reviews "Zappa presents a daddy monster who tickles, plays games, plans fun-filled excursions, and offers spaghetti for breakfast and ice cream in the tub.... Young children will probably giggle and warm up to the monster dad, who appears more silly than scary in Santat's exuberant illustrations."--School Library Journal