Thanks for indulging our April Fool's Day episode. To make up for our silliness we went to the land of of Alan Katz, where David and Mike get a flat tire. While attempting to fix-a-flat, they maunder and then meander into a lengthy conversation with "THE" Alan Katz. Not to be confused with Allan Katz, or A L Katz, not even the Alien Katz webtoon, although I feel a sudden urge to hug my cats.

WHOLEY COW, BATMAN! THIS COW SMELLS LIKE...

Fill in the blank for a chance to be live with Clean Slate Dave.... & Mike.

Ut oh... Spagetios???OMG]]

OMG.. is this for realsies????

We are fresh off a St. Patrick's Day Eve recording of The Day the Crayons Quit in our first episode where Mike and David are in the same continent in the same state in the same city in the same house in the same room in the same chair—Okay, wait. That's a little weird. There were two chairs and two Dads, but one room. And many, many, many...many crayons. (And some more crayons.) And definitely check out our video because if you like listening to Mike and David, you’ll love watching them!

It's one of our few mehpisodes, actually, the 'sode is good. Great, even. The book, it's well...go ahead and listen/watch and you'll find out.

But still a lot of fun: There are colors and craziness and crayons and ons and ons. There's even color commentary. David and/or Mike wax poetic. We even unwrap a mystery--or maybe a crayon? Or two? But there's no quitting. Are you quitting? There's no quitting. There's no quitting in baseball. There's no quitting in BASEBALL.

We start talking about the book early: only a minute and 30 seconds in! But don't worry, we get off to our normal hijinks, tangents, and other offshoots.

And the first color that we feature? Wait for it. It's a fun one! Beige. Beige? Beige.Yes. And beige is proud.

We talked about potential sponsors from Morningstar to Mars and to, of course, Crayola Crayons. We also talk about the past. Past Super Bowl—er The Big Game (Not one of our sponsors. Yet) parties. Girlfriends from way back and wives from way forward. We even get to the bottom of the Crayola crayon hyphen thing. Is Blue-green bluer or greener? Listen, and you'll find out.

Even better, watch YouTube link here.

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

A House with Books
Talking Animals Books
River Forest Public Library
Grapevine Public Library
Keller Public Library

This episode has it all! Stripes: the two dads read about them, they talk about them, David even wears them. There are specialists, experts, the carnival outside Camilla's house replete with news, people, hotdog, vendors, and other shenanigans, chicanery, tomfoolery and silly high jinks.

Warning: there is some darkness, and a touch of "the scary," but the story is so much fun and the art is beautiful, and filled with so many details that you discover more each time you return to the book.

And speaking of returning to the book, Mike and David don't digress at all and stay completely focused. Laser, I tell you! Just kidding. Digressions, tangents, and stories abound!

Check it out.

If you liked this episode, you'll LOVE these:

For some darkness on the edge of town check out our first episode: The Giving Tree
Want to read a similar tale of color change? Read Pinkalicious
Mike whispers, "Hush!" so read Good Night Moon
A mention of one of our favorite stories from history: Ruby Bridges
And there are some references to out Stinky bookends with Stinky-themed books with our Chris Grabenstein episodes 1 and 2

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

A House with Books
Talking Animals Books
River Forest Public Library
Grapevine Public Library
Keller Public Library

We had so much fun with Chris Grabenstein, we had to split it in to two parts! Chris regales us with tales from his book The Crossroads, and how he can tell a story in 35 words. He talks about his “yes and life“ and how he deals with the “mad magazine voice" in his head“ that led him to a career in radio where he got to be wacky and crazy and learned from his good friend Jim Patterson to "throw a pie in their face and once you have their attention, say something smart.”

Chris explains that “fiction is a tool for empathy because you become somebody else for 300 pages and say, ‘wow that’s what their life is like.’”

We continue our discussion of Chris’s most recent release Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest, including that it’s one of the most surprise endings of any of his books. But don't worry: no spoiler alerts here. We took the Ms. Pennypickle Pledge that we solemnly swear to not tell ANYTHING about the ending.

Stay tuned for when Chris will back in the fall for the release of not one, not two, but three new books: Ms. Pennypickle's Remarkable Road Race, Mr. Lemoncello‘s Wondermous Christmas Gift, and Stinking Beauty by J.J. & Chris, art by Alex Patrick.

As an added bonus, Chris calls David and Mike his “improv buddies.” And they couldn’t be prouder, happier, or even funnier.

Buy Chris's books. Right now. What are you waiting for?
The Crossroads, Mrs. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest, Stinky Sories: Jack and the Beanstink

If you liked this episode, you'll LOVE these:

Our first Dan Guest: Dan Gutman Part One and Part Two
And our second Dan Guest: Dan Yaccarino parte uno and parte due

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

A House with Books
Talking Animals Books
River Forest Public Library
Grapevine Public Library
Keller Public Library

DoB welcomes our third author and first non-daughter, non-Dan guest! None other than the perfectly paraphrasing prosaist of Ms. Pennypickle’s Puzzle Quest multiple award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Grabenstein.

We get to the bottom of the meaning and pronunciation of his name (nom de plume); how he writes; and how his writing was influenced by his experience in improv (back when he was Chris “The Banker” Grabenstein, chilling with Bruce “The Bartender” Willis and Robin "Yes, THAT one" Williams), radio, the ad game, and even banking (a guy's gotta eat).

Chris loves alliteration, imagination, and collaboration with authors like James Patterson, the G. T. Carber, and even his very own wife JJ. who is best first read and unofficial editor.

We talk about Ms. Pennypickle’s Puzzle Quest, and many of his other books, including The Island of Dr. Libris, Shine, The Crossroads, Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Murdle Jr.: Sleuths on the Loose, Stinky's Stories#2: Jack and the Beanstink, and The Smartest Kid in the Universe. Why so many books? Because Chris writes a lot, and we love his books a lot, and because we are Dads on Books. It's what we do.

And that’s just in this episode! Stay tuned for part two next week!

If you liked this episode, you'll LOVE these:

Our first Dan Guest: Dan Gutman Part One and Part Two
And our second Dan Guest: Dan Yaccarino parte uno and parte due

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

A House with Books
Talking Animals Books
River Forest Public Library
Grapevine Public Library
Keller Public Library

Mike and David are moved by the inspiring story of Ruby Bridges, a six year old, black girl who was integrated into New Orleans public schools in 1960.

After David learned of her story through Fr. Mike’s (no relation) homily at his girls’ Catholic school, they decided to pick not one, but two books about Ruby Bridges to read and talk about:

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles

and

Through My Eyes: Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges

And talk they do. In an episode where they aren't as wacky or silly as they normally are, Mike and David talk about Ruby Bridges' story; American history and race; and their own experiences, perceptions, and thoughts on issues that are still relevant today.

The episode features less laughing, and more thinking, a touch less of their silliness, and a handful of more seriousness. But, like all of their episodes, the Dads step up and show the power that books and what they teach really matters. Based on a true important event in the American civil rights movement, Mike and David talk for over an hour and decided this would be one long, thoughtful, thought provoking episode, talking about kids, books, heroes, history, and, so so much more!

If you enjoy this episode, read another book about Black American history, and let us know about it at DadsOnBooks@gmail.com. We all should be more aware of these stories. They are part of our history as Americans.

If you want to know more about Ruby and her foundation, take a look at the Ruby Bridge's Foundation website.

And if you like this episode, take a listen to one these if you haven't already:

More American history: George Washington’s Teeth

Dan Yaccarino episodes: Parte Uno, Parte Due

And now a word from our sponsors. (Well not really sponsors, just places we get books and hope that you'll go to if you need one).

A House with Books
River Forest Public Library
Grapevine Public Library
Keller Public Library

And a library that had a great Black History month design:
Timberland Regional Library

Did you know that George Washington had fake teeth? We did, too. Did you know it was a problem his entire adult life? Neither did we. Did you know he didn’t have wooden teeth? Neither did we. Did you know that he led the Continental army to win the Revolutionary War? We did, too. Just seeing if you’re paying attention. Good job.

While this episode of Dads on Books is just as fun as all the other ones, we decided to celebrate Presidents’ Day with a little bit of learning and a whole lot of fun.

Check it out, and hold onto your dentures. It’s gonna be a bumpy night.

And if you liked tghis one, you'll LOVE these:

Dan Gutman's episodes: Part 1, Part 2
Dan Yaccarino's episode: Parte Uno, Parte Due
More fun water color Mrs. McTats and her House Full of Cats and Guess How Much I Love You?

Some of our favorite places to get books:

A House with Books
River Forest Public Library
Grapevine Public Library
Keller Public Library