In the spirit of Father's Day, I chose Spot Loves His Daddy. As a toddler, I was a huge Spot fan and our son seems to have inherited that same love for the stories. In Spot Loves His Daddy, Spot gets to spend the entire day with his Daddy -- which makes him very happy. They go to a swing set, they play soccer, they fly a kite, they feed some ducks, they enjoy ice cream on a beach, and at the end of the day, Spot's Daddy reads him a story before bed.
What stands out to me in this book is not only the fun that Spot and his Dad seem to be having but also how the illustrations convey a fatherly attentiveness and love towards everything that Spot does. So often in today's culture we see parents constantly checking their phones when they're with their kids (I unfortunately do it too!), but this book reminds us to be fully engaged with our children.
Eric Hill's message is clear: a day with Spot's Dad is a special day. What better way to make Father's Day special than to have a day like Spot and his Dad's? I hope it's as wonderful and memorable as theirs.