The #1 Dad Book: Be the Best Dad You Can Be in 1 Hour

by James Patterson

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

James Patterson’s delightfully silly primer on fatherhood is your answer to being the dad you’ve always wanted to be, while having a lot of fun doing it. Future dad of the year – that’s you with this book.

Instant New York Times bestseller!

“#1 gift for every new father.”​ –Mel Robbins, The Mel Robbins Podcast

“Hilarious and sharp…everything ​(and more) about being a dad.” –Ron Howard

“A beautiful reminder that the most important stories often start at home.” –Viola Davis

“In a breezy voice that eschews hectoring for cajoling,” James Patterson’s The #1 Dad Book “is not only a labor of love, but a love letter to fellow fathers.” –USA Today

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316585071
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	05/12/2025
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Editorial Reviews

Hilarious and sharp…everything ​(and more) about being a dad.”—Ron Howard

“Bestseller Patterson brings a wry touch to his advice…sensibly encouraging dads and dads-to-be to shoot for progress over perfection.”—Publishers Weekly

“A mind meld of Dr. Spock and Dr. Seuss.”—Kirkus

“Funny and wise … Important advice from a trusted source … This book will appeal to overwhelmed new dads looking for some reinforcement that they're doing okay.”—Booklist

“In a breezy voice that eschews hectoring for cajoling,” James Patterson’s The #1 Dad Book “is not only a labor of love, but a love letter to fellow fathers.”

—USA Today

“A beautiful reminder that the most important stories often start at home.”—Viola Davis

“James Patterson is a literary legend.…If it’s part of the human experience, he’s written it.…The #1 Dad Book…is really special…a fast, funny, and heartfelt read packed with the real-life lessons James Patterson wishes he’d known sooner…lessons you’ll want to share with all the soon-to-be dads, fathers, grandfathers, and father figures in your life.”—Mel Robbins, The Mel Robbins Podcast

From the Publisher

2025-04-04
A by-the-numbers guide to superior fatherhood.

In a mind meld of Dr. Spock and Dr. Seuss, writing machine Patterson churns up a staccato treatise on the fine art of fathering: “Occasionally, you can be a knucklehead. That’s okay. This batshit crazy world isn’t making things any easier.” Most of the advice is the sort of thing you’d find on the back of a cereal box, if cereal boxes were devoted to such topics: Use baby wipes (“Don’t scrimp. Buy in bulk”). Hug the kid (“They can’t get enough of you”). Exploit the good will of doting grandparents (“a great resource for free childcare and lots of cool presents”). Lay off the booze and ganja (“Your kids are worth it”). An allied sentiment: “Grow the fuck up. It’s time.” A self-serving bit of advice, perhaps, is one that we’d hope every parent adopts, and that’s to read to your kids: Tell them stories, encourage them to love words, and so forth, and they’ll have an edge on, as Patterson, borrowing from sportscaster Dick Schaap, puts it, “people trying to make the world dumber.” This book isn’t dumb, but it’s written as if for readers whose parents didn’t read to them; just so, some of the best ideas in Patterson’s pages come from others, as when the writer George Saunders asks, “My time here is short—what can I do the most beautifully?” The takeaway of this already short book are some dicta to be found on two pages at the very end, and that seems too small a payoff for the price of admission, for all Patterson’s enthusiasm about his world-changing mission.

Advice for those for whom parenting is an alien concept, with nary a surprise to be found.

Kirkus Reviews