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Because Your Daddy Loves You: A Classic Picture Book About a Beach Day with a Loving and Patient Father
This spot-on pairing of words and images is a warm, reassuring, and humorous tribute to dads everywhere. A day spent with a young child at the beach is filled with many minor dramas—a lost shoe, a ball that floats too far out into the water, a drippy ice-cream cone. These can be frustrating events for both child and parent, but the daddy in this book finds a way to fix each problem, lovingly and patiently. Why? Because he loves his little girl, of course! The classic Because Your Daddy Loves You makes the perfect gift—whether you're celebrating Father's Day, a new dad, or just the special bond between a father and child . . . any day of the year.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2005
3 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Clements
190 books2,183 followersI was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1949 and lived in Oaklyn and Cherry Hill until the middle of sixth grade. Then we moved to Springfield, Illinois. My parents were avid readers and they gave that love of books and reading to me and to all my brothers and sisters. I didn’t think about being a writer at all back then, but I did love to read. I'm certain there's a link between reading good books and becoming a writer. I don't know a single writer who wasn’t a reader first.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
Before moving to Illinois, and even afterwards, our family spent summers at a cabin on a lake in Maine. There was no TV there, no phone, no doorbell—and email wasn’t even invented. All day there was time to swim and fish and mess around outside, and every night, there was time to read. I know those quiet summers helped me begin to think like a writer.
During my senior year at Springfield High School my English teacher handed back a poem I’d written. Two things were amazing about that paper. First, I’d gotten an A—a rare event in this teacher’s class. And she’d also written in large, scrawly red writing, “Andrew—this poem is so funny. This should be published!”
That praise sent me off to Northwestern University feeling like I was a pretty good writer, and occasionally professors there also encouraged me and complimented the essays I was required to write as a literature major. But I didn’t write much on my own—just some poetry now and then. I learned to play guitar and began writing songs, but again, only when I felt like it. Writing felt like hard work—something that’s still true today.
After the songwriting came my first job in publishing. I worked for a small publisher who specialized in how-to books, the kind of books that have photos with informative captions below each one. The book in which my name first appeared in print is called A Country Christmas Treasury. I’d built a number of the projects featured in the book, and I was listed as one of the “craftspeople”on the acknowlegements page, in tiny, tiny type.
In 1990 I began trying to write a story about a boy who makes up a new word. That book eventually became my first novel, Frindle, published in 1996, and you can read the whole story of how it developed on another web site, frindle.com. Frindle became popular, more popular than any of my books before or since—at least so far. And it had the eventual effect of turning me into a full-time writer.
I’ve learned that I need time and a quiet place to think and write. These days, I spend a lot of my time sitting in a small shed about seventy feet from my back door at our home in Massachusetts. There’s a woodstove in there for the cold winters, and an air conditioner for the hot summers. There’s a desk and chair, and I carry a laptop computer back and forth. But there’s no TV, no phone, no doorbell, no email. And the woodstove and the pine board walls make the place smell just like that cabin in Maine where I spent my earliest summers.
Sometimes kids ask how I've been able to write so many books. The answer is simple: one word at a time. Which is a good lesson, I think. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to know how every story is going to end. You just have to take that next step, look for that next idea, write that next word. And growing up, it's the same way. We just have to go to that next class, read that next chapter, help that next person. You simply have to do that next good thing, and before you know it, you're living a good life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
June 20, 2019
A remarkably patient father responds to each of his daughter's requests and crises - waking up from a nightmare, losing a shoe (underneath the bed), running out of energy on a beach-side walk - with understanding, and a can-do problem-solving attitude, in this sweet tribute to daddies everywhere. Rather than hurrying her along, when she lags behind, or scolding her, when she gets ice-cream all over herself, this daddy quietly sets out to solve the problem. Why? Because he loves her...
Chosen as one of our June selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, Because Your Daddy Loves You is one of those books that, on the surface, seems like a complete charmer. A positive father-daughter relationship? Check! Cute-as-a-button illustrations? Check! I liked that the father depicted here was a little dumpy, and the child a little scruffy - they looked like real people. Sadly, they didn't feel like real people, mostly because I had difficulty imagining any parent being this patient. I finished the book with qualms, not just about its general lack of realism, but about the idea, communicated in the final sentence, that daddies are this patient because they love their children. Sometimes parents get impatient, and with good reason! Surely they love their children too? In the end, I found this one just a little too treacly for my taste...
Chosen as one of our June selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, Because Your Daddy Loves You is one of those books that, on the surface, seems like a complete charmer. A positive father-daughter relationship? Check! Cute-as-a-button illustrations? Check! I liked that the father depicted here was a little dumpy, and the child a little scruffy - they looked like real people. Sadly, they didn't feel like real people, mostly because I had difficulty imagining any parent being this patient. I finished the book with qualms, not just about its general lack of realism, but about the idea, communicated in the final sentence, that daddies are this patient because they love their children. Sometimes parents get impatient, and with good reason! Surely they love their children too? In the end, I found this one just a little too treacly for my taste...
June 6, 2012
Hmmm. I am not really sure what to think about this book.
I really love the illustrations. Actually, this would be a brilliant wordless book…but it is not. Instead, it is a beautifully illustrated book about a father that is NEVER impatient, says all the right things, and comforts his daughter throughout an entire day of minor mishaps.
I do not know one father that is this way all the time. I feel like fathers are lovable because children know that they are loved by them despite their quirks and flaws.
I really love the illustrations. Actually, this would be a brilliant wordless book…but it is not. Instead, it is a beautifully illustrated book about a father that is NEVER impatient, says all the right things, and comforts his daughter throughout an entire day of minor mishaps.
I do not know one father that is this way all the time. I feel like fathers are lovable because children know that they are loved by them despite their quirks and flaws.
May 28, 2012
This is a sweet story about the relationship between a father and daughter. They have a fun day at the beach and the little girl mentions all the good choices that her dad makes, instead of making the easiest or more impatient choice. She wants her dad to know that she appreciates how he spends extra time with her and is patient, kind and loving. Sounds perfect, right?
Truly, though, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Our girls didn't really like it because the dad in this book is really nothing like their dad. On virtually every page, they would say, "He doesn't do that." He is an active parent, but the activities described are more of the things that I do, not him. In any case, our oldest was quite clear about the fact that the book is for younger children, since the little girl in this book is clearly much younger than she. Oh well, not all books are destined to be our favorites...
This story was selected as one of the books for the June 2012 - Fathers reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
Truly, though, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Our girls didn't really like it because the dad in this book is really nothing like their dad. On virtually every page, they would say, "He doesn't do that." He is an active parent, but the activities described are more of the things that I do, not him. In any case, our oldest was quite clear about the fact that the book is for younger children, since the little girl in this book is clearly much younger than she. Oh well, not all books are destined to be our favorites...
This story was selected as one of the books for the June 2012 - Fathers reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
June 22, 2012
This dad is just a little too sweet and a little too permissive. When my kids heard the story, they interrupted at one point to say, "That's not what our dad would do." If you're packed for the beach and you can't find your shoe, your dad probably will say, You should put things where they belong and not just go and happily, patiently look for your shoe. It is great to show the love dads have for their kids...and some of these things were exactly what dads would do, at least some of the time. But dads are human and do lose their patience at times. Also, dads also have a responsibility to teach their kids to be responsible...so this book just didn't sit well with me.
November 18, 2023
This is one of the books on dads that was heartwarming because it shows how patients dads are with their children and the lengths fathers go for their kids.
June 28, 2012
I liked this book. I have seen my husband do many of these sweet things for my daughter. What I didn't like was that they made it sound bad if sometimes the dad said things like "You should put things where they belong" or "I told you not to play so close to the waves." Because I have heard my husband say these things too. Every child needs love, but they also need to learn responsibility and good old common sense.
November 16, 2016
A concept book of parenting and love. One side of the page, "Daddy could say this..." On the other side, "...but he doesn't. He_______." Sweet, tender book, but it could possibly make a dad look bad if he doesn't do what this dad does. The dad portrayed in this book is the perfect dad!
August 7, 2009
Shows a daughter's appreciation for the unconditional love of her father.
September 29, 2010
I think this would be an awesome gift from children to fathers.
November 27, 2011
Love this book although I may have a bias.
February 22, 2020
Maybe it's because I'm a mom. Or because I have a high needs 6 year old going through a super defiant phase plus a 3 month old. Or because I'm an anxiety sufferer. Or because everything in the book that the dad "could say, but instead" he does something incredibly patient and positive instead (slow clap for dad) is stuff I say nearly hourly. Or because right after I read this book I read the mom version where rather than babying the son, the mom keeps challenging him to build character...but I found it self-congratulatory rather than cute.
February 6, 2018
Little kid goes through all the experiences young kids have, from nightmares to getting tired on the beach, to losing a ball, to making a mess. Each instance the kid says dad could say this, but instead he says this. All because a dad loves his kid.
October 27, 2022
This is one awfully sweet book which proclaims all the simple, yet profound, ways in which a parent shows their love to their child. I love that it was specific to fathers, because they never get as good press as Moms do for the TLC they shower on their daughters and sons. Parker approved ~ he has got a loving Dad, himself.
December 17, 2022
I think we all need books with soft, kind, playful dads. The motif of life and growing up as viewed as a baby mess is here. It’s such a silly sappy little book, but it wrecked my day emotionally. I was distraught. 5 stars.
June 7, 2017
About the things dads do to go the extra mile to help their kids and show their love.
November 13, 2017
This is so, so, so my dad. =)
February 3, 2018
The story is so sweet. I read the story for my son. Even he grows up, he still like this book. The story makes us feel love and be loved.
April 28, 2018
A touching tribute to many Dads, including mine : )
September 23, 2018
One of my favorite books about dads
January 7, 2019
Read after Because Your Mommy Loves You and did not find it quite as good, however it is still very cute.
November 27, 2019
This book was very sweet. The story was precious and the illustrations were beautiful as well.
August 1, 2020
An incredibly sweet picture book, a lovely read for any son or daughter and their parent(s), but a must have for any child with a dad.
November 23, 2021
Daddy goes above and beyond to take care of his little one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2022
Aspirational book about a patient dad’s relationship with his kid. Seems almost passive aggressive in its saccharine behaviors.
June 9, 2022
Cute and sentimental. I like books that have a focus on the daddy.
December 21, 2024
I am my Father’s daughter. (Tears dropping from both eyes)
October 22, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. This story is about a fathers unconditional love for his daughter. One could assume that he is a single father by the illustrations as well. I believe children would be very interested in this story, whether they live in single family home or have both parents. This is a story that everyone can relate to. The illustrations in the story do a very good job at complementing the story and are very colorful which I kept my attention and would do so for young children as well. The book is about a father that is never impatient, says all the right things, and comforts his daughter throughout an entire day of minor mishaps. However, this is not accurate. The concept in this book is parenting and love. One side of the page states, "Daddy could say this..." On the other side, "...but he doesn't. He says_______." Sweet book, but it this book could possibly make someone's dad look bad if he doesn't do and act the way the dad does in the book. The dad portrayed in this book is the perfect dad, but unfortunately no one is perfect.
November 5, 2019
In opposition to all the "this dad is too sweet" I'd say sometimes you have to do a little extra for a young child. If this was a more mature book, then yes, he should watch his daughter more closely. But the message that the author was trying to send was that Dads do a lot and we should be thankful for them. It is a really good book and I'd recommend it for people with young children.
February 24, 2015
This sweet, gentle book is about a daughter and father spending the day together at the beach. The little girl is a typical child, forgetful and messy, but instead of scolding her, her daddy finds a way to make her feel special and loved with each small obstacle she creates that could "ruin" a perfect day...thus actually creating a perfect day.
For instance, when she makes a mess with an ice cream cone, he doesn't reprimand her; he just gets napkins and some water and cleans her hands carefully. When she loses her ball in the surf, instead of telling her she shouldn't have played so close to the water, he wades out to get her ball back for her. Each instance of kindness illustrates patience and the bond between parent and child.
I bought this book as a gift for my husband from our daughter on his first Father's Day and it's one of our favorites to read to her. Simple, charming, and classic, this is a lovely book for any father and daughter to share.
For instance, when she makes a mess with an ice cream cone, he doesn't reprimand her; he just gets napkins and some water and cleans her hands carefully. When she loses her ball in the surf, instead of telling her she shouldn't have played so close to the water, he wades out to get her ball back for her. Each instance of kindness illustrates patience and the bond between parent and child.
I bought this book as a gift for my husband from our daughter on his first Father's Day and it's one of our favorites to read to her. Simple, charming, and classic, this is a lovely book for any father and daughter to share.
June 26, 2014
As a parent, I liked this book because it models a gentler, respectful way to parent, illustrating that attachment parenting is a series of choices, every day, in every situation. Yes, real, live daddies sometimes lose their patience, but I like that this book shows the options. In the example of the missing shoe, while it would be tempting to say, "well, you should put things where they belong" but that doesn't fix the problem. However, the opportunity to create a teachable moment presents itself while hunting for the shoe. I get the impression this Daddy tries hard to remember to take a breath and T.H.I.N.K. before reacting, and he sets a good example for parents reading this story, as well as the children it is read to.
LittleJohn has not verbalised a clear reason he likes this library book, or even why, but he has asked to re-read it several times now, so I'm guessing he does ;-)
LittleJohn has not verbalised a clear reason he likes this library book, or even why, but he has asked to re-read it several times now, so I'm guessing he does ;-)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews