Bad Dad by Derek Munson

Is your Dad a good Dad or a bad Dad?  How do you tell the difference?

Provato Marketing sent me a copy of this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

This is a special book for fathers and children.  Dad is only bad because he's playing with the children or giving them cookies or just plain acting like a kid again.  When they think about the nice things he does, they decide he's really an awesome Dad and they love him.  It's cute, it's sweet, and Melody Wang's illustrations make the antics stand out.

I liked this one a lot.  Why don't you read a few pages and see what you think?

I also interviewed the author before I read the book, so it's interesting to see the other side of story.  Here are the questions and answers:

What inspired you to write children's books?

I can honestly say that it was never something I set out to do.  I was out picking blackberries, and the next thing I knew, it felt like a storm was passing through my imagination, pouring out this story idea. Four hours later, I had written Enemy Pie. What a wild ride! And fascinating too, that this story just seemed to be out there, hovering, looking for a writer- it wasn't the other way around. Experiences like these have convinced me that the world is our collective imagination, turned inside out.

Do you get ideas from your family life?

Sometimes I do, but I don't observe things my wife and kids do and think "Hey! That would make a good story!" But when I am in writing mode, I do draw on my experiences as a parent, in the same way that I draw on characters from other stories. 

You don't do the things the Dad in this book does, do you?

Uhhh... No comment. Ok, maybe one comment. My daughter insists Bad Dad is an autobiography, but there are at least 4 things in the book that I have never done!

What will your next book be about?

Bad Dad was such a blast to write, and I've just finished a sequel to it. I'm also editing the first book in a series called Alien All-Stars. The short chapter books are geared toward boys 8-10, and tell the stories and adventures of a boy traveling the galaxy with a quirky alien baseball team. Fun stuff!

Mr. Munson sounds like he would be a fun fellow to visit with it, doesn't he?  I'll be watching for his next books, they sound like fun, too!