Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Book Description

In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.

Customer Reviews:

Great Audiobook Choice.......2007-10-22

Barack Obama exploded onto the national scene at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, with his keynote address about the importance of American unity and the resilience of the American Dream. Nearly ten years earlier, readers first had a chance to learn about the man in his memoir "Dreams from My Father", which was first released after Obama was Elected the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Obama traces his early, formative years and the racial struggles he had in life with a white mother and largely absent Kenyan father. Through his relationships with his extended family, Obama presents a remarkably cogent self analysis, showing how the important events of his life shaped his views and taught him self disciple and work ethic. Obama presents himself as a sensitive young boy with a hunger for knowledge/understanding. With each page, he slowly allows that child to transform into the man people know today.

That he wrote most of the book almost 15 years ago makes a lot of the content dated. Reading it now is like the closing scene on Meet the Press when Tim Russert often shows a clip or a picture of a current political icon when they were twenty-something idealists stumping for candidates from yesteryear's elections. There's permanence to the written word (specifically of autobiographies/memoirs), an unalterable revision-proof account of a specific point in the author's life. Obama created his first testament in his early 30s and no doubt has revised some of the beliefs and introspection he shares in "Dreams". However, any such evolution of thought should not take away from this portrait of a young man just coming of age and looking back over his great adventure in the world.

On a side note, I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook version, with Obama reading his own words. A remarkable experience.

warning.......2007-10-09

great read, but once you're done there's no way you could look at this man the same way again.

"PT 109" for the 21st Century.......2007-10-08

As my readers will know, I am a tough critic, but I can find precious little about "Dreams from my Father" to criticize. Of course, the book will not appeal to those who don't care about race in America, or who have extremely fixed ideas about the subject. I like to think though that the majority of the reading public at least (if not the general public) are both engaged with and to some extent open-minded about our nation's central bugaboo/crisis/character flaw.

An editorial review mentioned that Obama's mother is almost absent from the book. To some extent he may have taken her somewhat for granted -- unlike his father or himself, he always had a good idea who she was and what she was about. In the preface to this edition, Obama mentions that she has died of cancer between the original publication and his nomination for U. S. Senate from Illinois, and that if he had known she would not be around to see that, he might have written a different book, spending more time hailing her for having stood by him. In the introduction to the first edition (written in 1995), he admits that he can't speak for everyone in the world. This is the most ironic part of the book, since it was only a year after that that he first ran for the Illinois state legislature. Thereafter, he has increasingly been compelled to try to do just that.

Although finding oneself has become a cliche, especially in the literary world, it was Barack Obama's mission for the first thirty years of his life. Defined as a black man, he sought to make his race more than a social construct, but something central and ineffable, and at the same time not cut off his ties to the rest of humanity, particularly his white mother and grandparents. He doesn't take his mother completely for granted -- he spends thirty to fifty pages talking about her background and that of her parents, who moved from Kansas to Hawaii, seeing it as the last frontier, when she was about to start college. Another one hundred pages or so explore his life with them in Hawaii (with a short stint in Indonesia, where his mother married a man who had studied in America and gave birth to Obama's half-sister Maya).

Readers of any race will be overwhelmed by the sheer power of Obama's writing. I choked up reading this several times. That is ultimately the best reason to read it, not the fact that Barack Obama has become a serious candidate for the presidency. This book also helps you figure out how he did that. The only thing he feels more keenly than his own hopes and fears are the hopes and fears of everyone around him. At the end of the book, having learned the whole story of his father's and grandfather's lives, he stands over their graves and weeps, feeling what they must have felt at each turning point of their lives. Although Obama is quintessentially American, I somehow would not be surprised, given the epiphany he had there, if he chose upon his death to be buried in Kenya alongside them. But perhaps my sympathy is making me romanticize the man.

This book leaves me with two regrets and one big hope. First, it is probably unfilmable. Second, there is one man running with even more vision and courage than Barack Obama, so I won't be able to vote for him in the primary election (although I will in the general if he is the candidate). My big hope is that Obama will write a third book in 2017, having waited eleven years between books as he did between his first and second, that will combine the autobiography he did with this book and the political manifesto he did with "The Audacity of Hope" (a phrase which you have to read "Dreams from my Father" to know Obama doesn't take credit for). Although I haven't finished the latter book, there is basically no way it could top this one. I give it my highest recommendation.

Moving, eloquent and inspirational..........2007-09-26

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama is a moving, eloquent and honest book that was originally published in 1995. This is an amazing story, and not just because he is a presidential candidate. Although autobiographical in scope, it is not intended to be a complete history of the author's life. Instead, it is "a boy's search for his father."

Barack Obama had a most unusual childhood. His mother was a white American living in Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was a brilliant black Kenyan who received a college scholarship to the University of Hawaii. When Obama was two, his father graduated college and received a scholarship to obtain his PhD at Harvard. Unfortunately, the scholarship did not include living expenses for his family, and this proved the end of the marriage. After that, Obama only saw his father one more time before being killed in an auto accident when Obama was 21. Obama's mother subsequently married a man from Indoesia, where Obama lived for several years. But that marriage also ended and Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents. Dreams from My Father also includes Obama's college experiences, as well as the work he did as an organizer in Chicago.

The most moving part of Dreams from My Father involves his trip to Kenya for the first time several years after his father died. As a youth, he describes the reaction of others when they discover his background "Privately, they guess at my troubled heart, I supposed--the mixed blood, the divided soul, the ghostly image of a tragic mulatto trapped between two worlds." In Kenya, he meets his African family including grandparents, half-brothers and sisters, step-mothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. At the Kenyan airport, an airport employee recognizes his name and knew his father. "For the first time in my life, I felt the comfort, the firmness of identity that a name might provide, how it could carry an entire history in other people's memories...My name belonged and so I belonged." I was also moved by Obama's discovery of faith.

Even if Obama was not a presidential candidate for the 2008 election, Dreams is still an eloquent and inspirational story about his search for his father and his efforts to reconcile the histories of this white and black families.

A worthy memoir of Obama's complicated early life.......2007-09-06

Due to its multi-section arrangement, falling into three precise stages, this book feels like a well-paced coming-of-age novel, an impression buoyed by the fact that, to a degree that is unusual for politicians, Obama can actually write well. If you are looking for information on what policies Obama would support as a presidential candidate, you should look elsewhere. However, the book does give the impression that the writer is unusually forthright, both about himself and his beliefs.

Watching Obama's attitudes on race evolve is one of the key points of interest in the book, and the reader comes away with a picture of a man who is both reflective and self-critical. It is somewhat apparent that the author was not running for office at the time the book was written, and yes, it (very briefly) mentions his now infamous flirtation with cocaine use. However, if you want to read a portrait of the man, if not his political platform, and interested in the struggles of someone growing up in between two different cultures, this book is well worth reading.

Average customer rating:

My 14 month old LOVES to be read this book!
Not what you're looking for in a children's book...
Pratchett
If you know Pratchett, you NEED this book
I Love It!

Where's My Cow?
Terry Pratchett
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060872675
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Book Description

This is a book about reading a book,
which turns into a different book.
But it all ends happily!

Customer Reviews:

My 14 month old LOVES to be read this book!.......2007-09-15

I have to disagree with those who said this is not a good children's book. We were given this book as a gift by my aunt who loves cows and has no idea who Terry Pratchett is. She was rather surprised by the book but sent it anyway. I have read some of Pratchett's other books so I knew more of what I was in for when I read it to my daughter, who now insists on hearing it several times a day. She loves the pictures, they are detailed and cartoony at the same time. And she loves all the different animal noises and voices as long as they are read with enthusiasm. I think children love being read to by the adults that love them regardless of the story, and wouldn't you rather read your kids a book you enjoy too? One of my favorite things is hearing how different people read the story, like my mother-in-law. I wish I could find more books like it.

Not what you're looking for in a children's book..........2007-07-25

While I love Terry Pratchett's witty satire in his DiscWorld books, I think he is out of his element in this "children's book". I have a two year old daughter, who like most children her age has a limited attention span. I was looking for something similar to the simple straight-forward version in Thud, something maybe 10-20 pages long (if that) that kind of went through different animals and maybe a dragon or a wizard and finally a cow, so that the young reader can shout "that's my cow!"

What you get is an increasingly convoluted plot that tells the story of Vimes reading to his kid. The illustration is an obviously computer-generated mish mash of busy images which do nothing to enhance the story. So instead of becoming a household name in children's books like your Maurice Sendak's or Dr. Seusses, Pratchett appears to be a money-hungry author looking to capitalize on some cross-merchandising, which he has done before with all the companion books to the DiscWorld.

It seems to me a case of too many people involved in this project, and none of them stopped the process and said, "I think we're trying to do too much with this. Let's remember who our target audience is."

But Pratchett is one of my favorite authors, and I eagerly look forward to his next work of ADULT fantasy.

Pratchett.......2007-06-14

What can I say, it is Terry Pratchett. As with all things written or produced by this strange man: It is outstanding.

If you know Pratchett, you NEED this book.......2007-06-01

So we're in the bookstore, and my husband says "You have to read this book... right now." And then he hands me a large flatboard picture book called "Where's My Cow?" I am baffled. I'm even further baffled when I see "by Terry Pratchett".

We're both huge Pratchett fans... but of course, I've never seen him write a picture book before. I am intrigued. I open it up.

I am laughing from the first page. The laughs get harder and harder as I progress. By the time I get to -- well, a certain city ruler, I have to sit down on the floor of the bookstore because I'm laughing too hard to stand up.

What an absolute treasure. In addition to being the funniest thing I've ever read, it's a fantastic children's book that rings true for any parent. My son loved it, and being ten, of course he's not read Pratchett... yet. We're starting him with Guards! Guards! this summer.

Needless to say, we purchased the book right then, and we're ordering more copies for friends. My only qualm is that I know some people who aren't versed in Pratchett, and will therefore not get it. I'm pushing them to start reading now in preparation for "Where's My Cow?"

Terry Pratchett, you are the MAN.

I Love It!.......2007-05-14

I am a big fan of the Discworld series. Now I can share it with my kids! Yay!

Average customer rating:

Love these books
Wonderful story of special times
Outdoor fun
Being Fair
Mercer Mayer Books as a new tradition

Just Me and My Dad (Look-Look)

Manufacturer: Random House Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0307118398
Release Date: 2001-03-02

Book Description

This well-loved Little Critter picture book has become a modern classic. It's the tale of a father-and-son camping trip filled with Little Critter's mistakes and good intentions. In spite of difficulties, however, the happy father and son manage to put up their tent, catch fish for dinner, and sleep beneath the stars. In spite of minimal text, the story is full and rich, with endearing illustrations from start to finish.

Customer Reviews:

Love these books.......2007-08-10

My sons gave this to my husband for fathers day. They are all great books!

Wonderful story of special times.......2007-08-06

Again Mercer Mayer has captured a special moment full of it's ups and downs. Along with his beautiful art work this book is a joy to read with your little one. My children seem to enjoy the special characters that are along for the trip also. See if your little one can find them as you read. Little Critter always portrays the curiosity and eagerness of children and the funny mishaps that come from that curiosity and eagerness. I have loved Mercer Meyer since I was a child and enjoy that my children do too!

Outdoor fun.......2007-01-18

This short story about going camping with dad fits our family perfectly. I love the art work.

Being Fair.......2007-01-17

It's always easy to find a book relating to the child/mother relationship, but it's a little more difficult finding a book relating to the child/father relationship. So this was quite a delightful find. It was written exceptionally well, and my stepdaughter enjoyed reading it.

Mercer Mayer Books as a new tradition.......2006-11-05

When my 3 sons were little, they constantly begged me to read all of Mercer Mayer's books to them, but especially Just Me and My Dad. Now that my oldest son is grown and has a 3-year old daughter of his own, it has become her personal favorite. Children love the adorable characters and the humor contained in all of Mayer's books, even at very young ages. A great, easy to read bedtime story for all children!!

Average customer rating:

Wanna know what a "daddy" does?
Cute book
Book review
Beautiful Book
Great book for Grandma to read to Grandson

I Love My Daddy

Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060543116
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Book Description

Sometimes daddies are loud and playful. Other times they are quiet and compassionate. And they are always loving. Sebastien Braun's appealing text and charming illustrations follow a day in the life of a bear and his bear cub in this celebration of the bond between father and child.

Customer Reviews:

Wanna know what a "daddy" does?.......2007-08-02

Then, check out this captivating look at the bond between father and son told in the simplistic dialog of a little bear. With poignant pictures by author/illustrator Sebastien Braun (perfect last name), little "readers" can relate to the love that is shared by the family duo.

This is a perfect "primer" for both the child and the dad that needs to know his role.

Cute book.......2007-07-26

This is a cute book. It's short and simple, which is easy to read to little ones. The illistrations are very pretty, also. Good gift to give as a baby shower gift or to a grown-up "from a child". (There is a page inside that says 'This book is to ______ with love".) I gave this book to my Brother-in-law but wrote inside that it was from his son.

Book review.......2006-11-04

This book is very nice. It was part of a gift to my husband when we found out I was pregnant.

Beautiful Book.......2005-09-14

This is a beautifully illustrated book that would be a sweet gift for the favorite daddy in your life. When my husband saw it he said, "you're such a sap". But then he went ahead and added it to his regular line-up of goodnight books for our little boy. :)

Great book for Grandma to read to Grandson.......2005-08-29

(I wrote a similar review for I Love My Mommy)
I bought this book for my grandson when he visits overnight. He LOVES it. I believe that he is comforted by the book. It's very simple, but the message is direct, and the illustrations are quite sweet. My grandson's parents often work at night or are in school and clearly he'd rather be with them, but this book is a reminder that even though he's with Grandma, his Mommy and Daddy love him lots.

Average customer rating:

only a little bit of this book is worth reading
Good, Not Great
Homo Sapiens
Great read, but a generous helping of deja vu
Truly enjoyable

The Bill from My Father: A Memoir
Bernard Cooper
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743249623

Book Description

Bernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and laugh-out-loud humor. Like Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, Cooper's account of growing up and coming to terms with a bewildering father is a triumph of contemporary autobiography.

Edward Cooper is a hard man to know.Dour and exuberant by turns, his moods dictate the always uncertain climate of the Cooper household. Balding, octogenarian, and partial to

a polyester jumpsuit, Edward Cooper makes an unlikely literary muse. But to his son he looms larger than life, an overwhelming and baffling presence.

As The Bill from My Father begins, Bernard and his father find themselves the last remaining members of the family that once included his mother, Lillian, and three older brothers. Now retired and living in a run-down trailer, Edward Cooper had once made a name for himself as a divorce attorney whose cases included "The Case of the Captive Bride" and "The Case of the Baking Newlywed," as they were dubbed by the Herald Examiner. An expert at "the dissolution of human relationships," the elder Cooper is slowly succumbing to dementia. As the author attempts, with his father's help, to forge a coherent picture of the Cooper family history, he discovers some peculiar documents involving lawsuits against other family members, and recalls a bill his father once sent him for the total cost of his upbringing, an itemized invoice adding up to 2 million dollars.

Edward's ambivalent regard for his son is the springboard from which this deeply intelligent memoir takes flight. By the time the author receives his inheritance (which includes a message his father taped to the underside of a safe deposit box), and sees the surprising epitaph inscribed on his father's headstone, The Bill from My Father has become a penetrating meditation on both monetary and emotional indebtedness, and on the mysterious nature of memory and love.

Download Description

"Bernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and laugh-out-loud humor. Like Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, Cooper's account of growing up and coming to terms with a bewildering father is a triumph of contemporary autobiography. Edward Cooper is a hard man to know.Dour and exuberant by turns, his moods dictate the always uncertain climate of the Cooper household. Balding, octogenarian, and partial to a polyester jumpsuit, Edward Cooper makes an unlikely literary muse. But to his son he looms larger than life, an overwhelming and baffling presence. As The Bill from My Father begins, Bernard and his father find themselves the last remaining members of the family that once included his mother, Lillian, and three older brothers. Now retired and living in a run-down trailer, Edward Cooper had once made a name for himself as a divorce attorney whose cases included "The Case of the Captive Bride" and "The Case of the Baking Newlywed," as they were dubbed by the Herald Examiner. An expert at "the dissolution of human relationships," the elder Cooper is slowly succumbing to dementia. As the author attempts, with his father's help, to forge a coherent picture of the Cooper family history, he discovers some peculiar documents involving lawsuits against other family members, and recalls a bill his father once sent him for the total cost of his upbringing, an itemized invoice adding up to 2 million dollars. Edward's ambivalent regard for his son is the springboard from which this deeply intelligent memoir takes flight. By the time the author receives his inheritance (which includes a message his father taped to the underside of a safe deposit box), and sees the surprising epitaph inscribed on his father's headstone, The Bill from My Father has become a penetrating meditation on both monetary and emotional indebtedness, and on the mysterious nature of memory and love. "

Customer Reviews:

only a little bit of this book is worth reading.......2007-08-30

I read the whole thing--but only little bits of the book were worth the time it to read it.

Good, Not Great.......2007-04-20

Although it's beautifully written , I didn't enjoy this ode to his father near as much as 'Truth Serum'. There are some lovely keen observations about life and parents in general, yet not enough that made me feel it was truly special.

Homo Sapiens.......2007-03-10

Why is it incumbent on this gay author to insert his love affair into a memoir about his father? Why does he need to tell us how he wants to have sex with Brian into old age and pepper the book with their amorous advances to each other? Is it a homage to his lover? Did he promise to include him in his book? How does this not distract from the story he is telling us about his grizzled old dad?

It is no surprise that his father would not object too terribly to the author's decision not to have an XY relationship, to have children, considering the genetic wreckage he has innocently passed down with three sons dying young, and relatively young of colon cancer, heart disease, etc. and the remaining one genetically mutated to not reproduce. The tragedy of this quadruple assault in providing heirs and heiresses must have been far more devastating to his mother and father than he seems capable of understanding. The author seems cold and callous to this thunderbolt from Zeus that has struck his parents and one wonders if that did not have a fatal influence on his mother. Would have liked to see him exercise a more empathetic approach to this life- changing travesty.

Great read, but a generous helping of deja vu.......2006-07-28

Too bad Walter Matthau is dead. Otherwise, he would be a natural to play Bernard Cooper's father in the movie version of this bittersweet memoir.
In fact, didn't I see the tall, loud-mouthed actor playing a variant of this very part in "Hanging Up" and, of course, "The Sunshine Boys" ??
Also, I know that I read the section about Cooper pere's ill-fated marriage before. Either Bernard Cooper had published it as a short memoir elsewhere (the New Yorker?) or the situation was reported by some other hapless son about his brain-addled father.
Even though so much of the book seemed familiar, I enjoyed the storytelling and the insights into the relationship between Bernard Cooper and his much put-upon therapist companion. And I really ached for him when I read about the horrible deaths of his three older brothers.
Perhaps the reason the situation with his father seem so familiar is that Cooper is telling the truth. And sometimes the truth isn't so unique.
He is a REALLY GOOD writer. I hope next time he will write something starring another actor.

Truly enjoyable.......2006-07-12

I loved the entire book...My favorite story is when Bernard's father goes through a "fictitious phase" of marriage.

Average customer rating:

Funny Absurdism -- with a VERY nasty edge.
The Day I Read A Whole Children's Book Aloud in the Store...
The day I swapped my dad for 2 goldfish
BRILLANT, SWEET, CHARMING, TWISTED
Iï¿½ll swap my dad any day if thatï¿½s book Iï¿½ll get for it...

The Day I Swapped My Dad for 2 Goldfish
Neil Gaiman , and Dave McKean
Manufacturer: White Wolf Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1565049446

Amazon.com

It's a graphic short story more than a traditional picture book, by a famous fantasy and comics team. From the front end-flap to the final Fin (and not excepting the copyright page), this is a witty, funny collaboration. Neil Gaiman's grasp of kid-narrative logic and Dave McKean's whimsical layered art tell the story of a dad who "doesn't pay much attention to anything, when reading his newspaper" and the narrator's brilliant idea of swapping him for something more interesting--and of course, the convoluted consequences.

Customer Reviews:

Funny Absurdism -- with a VERY nasty edge........2007-07-20

One minor problem for me, that is evidently not a problem for many others, was the art. I was put off by the blotchy, surrealistic, color-schemes, which were distracting, and rarely added to whatever charm the line-drawings themselves possessed.

Getting past that, I was able to enjoy the silly story. Humor is often generated when the tension is created by horror or fear, but then is punctured by the absurdity of the situation.

All decent people should be horrified by the idea of buying and selling other human beings, in pursuit of materialistic goals, as though they were mere objects. Here, however, the absurdity of the situation breaks the ice. We know that virtually no real child would want to sell his or her father. Moreover, the idea of this rather useless dad permitting himself to be bartered all over town by children, without ever once looking up from his newspaper, is completely nonsensical. I suppose children might laugh (just as I did).

Another saving grace is that, even though the story is told from the point of view of the creepy little sociopath of a son who sells his dad, there were other characters for me to root for. I was completely on the side of the little sister, who (quite properly) objects and protests the scheme. She (quite properly) rats him out to his mother, who is also suitably furious, and makes this creepy little materialist promise never to sell his dad again. Morever, since the bulk of the story concerns the quest to RECOVER the bartered-off dad, even the boy is doing the right thing for much of the narrative.

But then comes the TWIST. You see, he never promised anything about not selling his little sister. The last panel shows the brother's huge shadow, mouth open with glee, reaching like an ogre for this little girl, who looks small, isolated, helpless.

This time, I did not laugh.

Why not? This time, sadly, the absurdity of the situation does not puncture the horror. It is not absurd enough, and it is too horrific. We do not think the boy is joking. Earlier in the tale, we actually saw the little sister bound and gagged by the older brother to prevent her ratting on him to Mom (a disturbing enough scene in its own right). Moreover the pictures make the boy look much larger and stronger than his little sister -- the situation lacks the obvious jokiness of bartering off one's much-larger dad while he never looks up from his newspaper. Even the THREAT of selling your little sister to your friends is potentially a nasty and frightening form of abuse.

Gaiman's afterword tells us the story reflects real and bitter hostility that existed between two of his children, and further reflected a similar bitter hostility between himself and his own sister. This eerily suggests that the final panel might have been inspired by genuine malice. How, then is it a joke? If bitter hostility between siblings is a problem -- and it often is -- ought not the message, in a picture book ostensibly marketed for children, be a bit more positive? Payback time, little girl! I guess she shouldn't have ratted out her creepy older brother. Funny to Gaiman, perhaps, but not to me.

The Day I Read A Whole Children's Book Aloud in the Store..........2005-10-01

This book is a whimsical tale about a boy who sets covetous eyes on his friend's goldfish, and after rummaging through all his belongings, finally hits upon the idea of swapping his dad for the goldfish. Though the friend initally doesn't think it's a fair swap ("I've got two goldfish, you've only got one dad"), he eventually agrees. But when Mom gets home, the boy has to go return the goldfish and get his dad back. Returning the goldfish, he finds his dad has been swapped for something else, and so the boy has to go through the town returning item after item until he eventually gets his dad back.

Though it's dressed up and marketed as a children's book, it's a little long to hold the interest of anyone under 7 or 8, and a little too simple for those over that age, but who aren't old enough to really see the humor in it. But as an adult, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. The illustrations by Dave McKean are delightfully creepy, and the story is just silly enough to remind me how I thought about the barter system when I was a kid. The story is funny, and the ending even funnier. My wife and daughter enjoyed hearing me read the whole thing aloud in the store, and by this merit I was allowed to buy it. The edition that I got has a CD insert with a recording of Mr Gaiman himself reading the story. Though my performance was masterful in the extreme, I have to concede that Neil reads it better than I do, and I've listened to the disc several times since I got it.

If you're reading it aloud to kids, make sure you've got a patient audience first, since it takes a while to get through. But if they'll sit for it, they'll probably enjoy it. I personally loved the illustrations, done in a mixture of media, collages of photograph and hand-drawn images, a staple of McKean's artistic style. Not the typical happy-cartoony children's book drawings.

Though I've gotten mixed responses from the groups of children I've read this to, I enjoy the book a lot, and think that you will, too.

The day I swapped my dad for 2 goldfish.......2004-02-13

This is not a children's book. It is dark. Don't read this to yor children. This person should not be writing childrens books.

BRILLANT, SWEET, CHARMING, TWISTED.......2002-11-27

I'm sure I'm not the first reviewer here to say that I love this book as much as any kid ever could. Great story, great writing, exceptional artwork by the inimitable dave mckean. If you don't fall in love with this book, then I'd be willing to wager that you never had a childhood.

By any means necessary, no matter how old you are, read this book; even if you have to swap your favoritest family member for a copy. (I've heard Amazon does in fact accept this kind of bartering system)

Iï¿½ll swap my dad any day if thatï¿½s book Iï¿½ll get for it..........2002-04-06

Take Neil Gaiman, put him in a room together with Dave McKean. What do you get? Wonders. This dream-team has worked many times before and has produced some of the best Sandman comics in the bunch.

Although it is presented as a book for those who are still children at heart and offers a moral which should not be overlooked, it spins a wondrous yarn about a boy and his friends, and mocks the sixdegrees theory in its undertow...

Gaimanýs words are beautiful and McKeanýs art is fantastic. You can read this book over and over again and never tire of it, or just leaf through the pages and marvel at the pictures, which are a great source of amusement for children who are yet to be able to read on their own.

Book Description

Dad lovers and dog lovers will both delight in this buoyantly illustrated, tongue-in-cheek tribute to the traits these two species share - and why we adore them.

Dad pretends to be human, but the kids know otherwise. Between first-thing-in-the morning scratching, fetching the paper, snacking, lying around for hours, and even the occasional pit stop behind a tree, the evidence is clear. But so are their father's steadfast love and loyalty. Aren't those the best things about dads and dogs alike? Elizabeth Bluemle's amusing, affectionate text and Randy Cecil's delightful illustrations create the ultimate tribute to proud papas everywhere - an irresistible story readers will beg for again and again.

Customer Reviews:

SIMPLY A FUN READ, AND TRUE, SO TRUE.......2007-10-01

This one will hit pretty close to home in many households. I know it did in mine. The young child here flatly states that "My father pretends to be human, but I know is is really a dog." The child then goes one to prove the point. Little things like fetching the morning paper, can lie aroud for hours, growls when disturbed from a nap, and many more. This book is simply funny. The art work by Randy Cecil is quite appealing and the concept of the story is great. This is a good one to give to dad on Father's Day and is fun to read with the kids. Actually, there is quite a lot of truth in this book and will particularly be appreciated and enjoyed by those adults who have the ability to laugh at themselves. I enjoyed ever page of this one and saw so much of myself in it.

Much Like a Real Daddy.......2007-03-11

We all know how Daddies REALLY are. This fun to read book shows a glimpse into how Daddies are just like doggies. I laughed out loud when I read this book at my daughter's school's book fair. Much fun! You'll think the father in your house IS a dog.

My family LOVES this book.......2007-01-18

We first got this book at the library and my 5yr old son wanted to read it every night. It is very cute and funny. We still laugh every time we read it. We loved it so much we bought it for my husband for Father's Day. I recommend this book to everyone who wants a very fun book about fathers.

Hilarious!.......2006-05-07

This is the kind of witty book that a lot of writers will wish they thought of first. A tongue-in-cheek look at the habits of Dad's everywhere, MY FATHER THE DOG is one that kids and their parents will want to read over and over. A great Father's Day gift for kids to buy for their dog-like Dad's!

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish

Average customer rating:

A Great Family Story
Lovely
I bought this book just beacause of its artworks/design
For All Ages
A Review for a bedtime story

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
Neil Gaiman
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060587016
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Book Description

"I'll swap you my dad," I said.
"Oh-oh," said my little sister.

What if you wanted your best friend's two goldfish so much that you'd swap anything for them, even your father?

What if your mother came home and found out what you'd done?

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish is a hilarious adventure and was the first book for younger readers from the acclaimed author and illustrator of the New York Times best-sellers The Wolves in the Walls and Coraline. Chosen as one of Newsweek magazine's Best Children's Books of the Year, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish is beloved by readers of all ages. This new edition features brand-new jacket art and an afterword by the author on the origins of this unique and wonderfully funny story.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Family Story.......2007-08-06

I bought this book so my daughter could read along with the recording of it on her music player. It was a nice surprise to have the CD included in the book, as well. This is a funny story that we all enjoy.

Lovely.......2007-05-09

This is a wonderfully fun book about a boy who trades his dad for two goldfish. His mother tells him he has to get his dad back, so he goes on an adventure, walking from house to house, swapping items until he finally gets his dad back. His dad seems to have been oblivious to the whole thing, just reading his paper the whole time. A fun book with beautiful illustrations (typical Dave McKean drawings). My 6 year-old daughter loves it.

I bought this book just beacause of its artworks/design.......2007-03-15

and I mean it. They are awesome, and come together very nice in the whole.
But the most impressive is that they are so thoughtful, full of collages, hidden messages, paint textures that they tell the tale just like the text.

For All Ages.......2006-12-14

This is a great little book that can be enjoyed by children of all ages, or children at heart. The story is basically about a boy that swaps his father for 2 goldfish. What he finds out is that the person he swapped with has swapped his father with someone else and this continues in a chain until he finally finds his father.

This is such a great book, right up to the caliber that would be expected of Mr. Gaiman. As usual, Dave McKean's illustrations are absolutely amazing. Even if you don't read the story, this book is great to have just as an art book. Enjoy it!

A Review for a bedtime story.......2006-11-05

I liked the illustrative quality of this book, the story is simple , original, and with humour, my six year old daughter enjoys it, although it is very different from her world, in every way.

I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project

Average customer rating:

I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project
These stories are America, from one paragraph to three pages long.
hilarious!
Good Stories Have Power
Americana at its best

I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project

Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312421001

Amazon.com

When the call went out to listeners of National Public Radio's Weekend All Things Considered to submit stories about their personal experiences, the results were overwhelming. I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project contains editor Paul Auster's pick of the best submissions. The stories, whether fact or fiction, all exhibit a heartfelt earnestness to be heard, and share similar themes of bizarre coincidences, otherworldly intervention, love and loss, life-changing experiences, and mundane pleasures. Some are deeply moving, most are not. But it is uplifting and well worth the time to sift through these brief snapshots of our collective human experience.

To give the book shape, Auster has done his best to categorize the material by subject, such as Animals, Families, War, Love, Dreams, and the like. These categories hold true to the submission criteria: "[I was most interested in] stories that defied our expectations about the world, anecdotes that revealed the mysterious and unknowable forces at work in our lives, in our family histories, in our minds and bodies, in our souls.... I was hoping to put together ... a museum of American reality." I Thought My Father Was God is a testament that, despite what on a bad day we may think is a drab existence, we all have a few good stories in us. --Michael Ferch

Book Description

The true-life stories in this unique collection provide "a window into the American mind and heart" (The Daily News).One hundred and eighty voices - male and female, young and old, from all walks of life and all over the country - talk intimately to the reader. Combining great humor and pathos this remarkable selection of stories from the thousands submitted to NPR's Weekend All Things Considered National Story Project gives the reader a glimpse of America's soul in all its diversity.

Customer Reviews:

I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project.......2007-08-30

I had heard about this book from a friend. I not only enjoyed reading it, as I did so it gave me a greater appreaciation for my own father. As my father laid dying, my brother and I took turns reading selected stories to him. It gave us a chance to tell him how much we (now as adults) appreaciated his years of parenting. I highly recommend it.

These stories are America, from one paragraph to three pages long........2005-12-05

I love the stories in this book. I love how they are written by "real" people, not professional writers. I love how they are true, and how every one, no matter how short, makes you feel or learn something strong and beautiful.
After reading each story, though, you will struggle with trying to decide if you should pause and feel the new emotion each one gave you, or if you should quickly flip through the next page, asking for more. I'm a greedy reader and I usually did the latter while reading this. But for the second read, I will force myself to reflect.

hilarious!.......2005-05-12

This book gathers some of the funniest stories I've ever read, which is saying a lot since they were written by laymen, not professionals. The funny stories were laugh-out-loud funny. The heartwarming stories were touching without being corny. All were provocative because they were authentically relayed by real people. The cynic who said s/he already read these in a "Chicken Soup" book obviously didn't read this collection. I defy anyone to read the story "Rascal" without having a vivid image of the day, laughing out loud from the belly, and being satisfied at the story of someone getting what he deserved! I have read this out aloud many times it's so funny AND rightous.

the grass-roots nature of how the stories were collected adds to the mystique that a call on the radio lead to such a great great book. Don't be overwhelmed by the size: pick and choose which stories you read (like I favored comedy over heart-warming).

Good Stories Have Power.......2005-04-07

In some ways I THOUGHT MY FATHER WAS GOD could be called "Chicken Soup for the NPR Soul." Like the titles in the familiar "Chicken Soup" series, this is a collection of stories from ordinary individuals that have a way of reaching readers. The selections in this volume stemmed from National Public Radio's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED National Story Project. The book is edited by noted writer Paul Auster who selected the stories included in this volume from nearly four thousand entries. The stories themselves range from the humorous and heartwarming to the serious. We meet a variety of people such as a woman who questions life after death when a lost ring is discovered; an artist who falls in love at first sight with a woman absorbed in Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS; and a man who went to a Halloween party dressed as a priest, but gets a taste of ministry from people who have no idea its just a costume. These are juts a sampling of the many stories included in this work. The tales are varied, but share one common characteristic. All find meaning in ordinary events as we interact with the people in our lives: family members, friends, and sometimes strangers. Most of the contributors are not professional writers but each story is the creation of someone who has a desire to share an often times ordinary but deeply held story that needs to be told. When we finish reading the stories in this volume, we may be tempted to say "I can tell a story like that" and since these stories are so human and real, we probably can!

Americana at its best.......2004-11-26

I came upon a British publication of this book when I was in Vienna. I was very sick at the time, and as a young single woman travelling alone through Europe for the summer, was glad to have this company in my tiny hotel room for the three days I did not have enough strength to leave. Even if I was well, I don't know that I would have been able to put this book down.

The format of individual stories divided by genre is simple to pick up or put down without missing a beat, and the range of emotions, experiences, diversity, American geography.... it's beautiful. From sea to shining sea, the truth of what America is, what it has failed at, where its glories lay, what it can become. And just what life is. In the words of so many. I loved this book and was delighted it at home under a different title.

Goodnight, My Angel: A Lullabye (Book & Audio CD) (CD: Goodnight, My Angel)

Average customer rating:

Goodnight My Angel
A Stunning Combination
Sweet good-night message
For All Daughters & Granddaughters
Great Gift for parents of baby girls (or boys)!

Goodnight, My Angel: A Lullabye (Book & Audio CD) (CD: Goodnight, My Angel)
Billy Joel
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Bedtime & Dreaming | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0439553768

Book Description

Time to close your eyesAnd save these questions for another dayGoodnight my angelNow it's time to sleepAnd still so many things I want to say.With words as tender as a kiss on the cheek, Billy Joel reassures readers young and old that the love between a parent and child lasts forever, even if families are separated. Dreamy paintings of a father and daughter illustrate the profound ways that small moments -- like tucking a child into bed -- affirm parents' devotion to their children.

Customer Reviews:

Goodnight My Angel.......2007-01-30

Billy Joel's just the best as is, but when I found out he put one of my favorite songs he has ever sung on the pages of a book with beautiful pictures, I had to get it!! I got a great deal on it too!!! And the shipping was faster than I expected!! Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase!!

A Stunning Combination.......2007-01-11

Billy Joel has always been one of my favourite musicians.His combination of intelligent lyrics and great melodies makes him a joy to listen.When added to Yvonne Gilbert's sensitive and skilled drawings you have a book that it is a delight to own.I loved it so much I bought two more copies - one for my daughter (Billy's lyrics perfectly express the feelings of a father for his child) and one for my niece.Both girls have studied design and illustration and in Yvonne Gilbert's superb illustrations for this book they have seen the standard you have to reach to be on top of your craft.

Sweet good-night message.......2006-08-28

The soft illustrations echo the tender words of a parent to his child as he sends her off to sleep. The accompanying CD adds a true voice of love to the kind words. Wonderful book. Great idea for a gift to parents of a newborn.

For All Daughters & Granddaughters.......2006-08-21

Here is a book and CD which makes a perfect gift for new daughters and granddaughters which they can keep for their own daughters and granddaughters. It is very well illustrated adding a visual presence to a beautiful lullabye.

Great Gift for parents of baby girls (or boys)!.......2006-07-15

I checked this book out at my local library & fell in love with it. The words are very tender to any parent of a little girl. I only have girls, but I would think this would be great for a boy as well. The words are generic, but the pictures are of a little girl & her Dad- and the pictures are AMAZING!
Since reading the book & listening to CD, we have bought this book as a gift & for ourselves. We play the song everynight as we put our little ones asleep. It's a must-have!

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