A boy with thick glasses sits cross-legged, reading a book, as a different boy walks by accompanied by his father. “You know what we do to nerds, right?” the father asks. His son grins. “Yeah. Learn from them!”
The scene described is a sequence in the “Lunarbaboon” webcomic. Lunarbaboon is half human and half moon monkey, but the situations he encounters as a father seem entirely human. Author Chris Grady has a knack for taking some of our more undesirable social conventions and turning them on their heads. In one cartoon, the father offers to teach his son some “sweet moves” with the ladies. The “moves” turn out to involve listening and showing respect. After a number of years of internet popularity, Grady’s cartoons are now available in book form. “Lunarbaboon: the Daily Life of Parenthood” was published last year.
Another timely book for Father’s Day is “Pops” by Michael Chabon. In this collection of essays, Chabon reflects on his relationships with his four 
children and with his own father. Whether at a youth baseball game, sitting by his father’s hospital bed or grudgingly attending a fashion show, Chabon finds much to ponder in regards to dads, children, families and human relationships. His piece about helping his teenaged son — his “sartorial wild child” — fulfill the dream of attending the Paris Men’s Fashion Week will speak to every parent who has ever wondered, “How did I get here?” while supporting a child pursuing their own unique identity.
Ben Falcone sums up the fatherhood situation in the title of his memoir, “Being a Dad is Weird.” Falcone is a writer, director and actor who is married to fellow actor, Melissa McCarthy. He shares stories from his daily life with two daughters. But he focuses more on the upbringing he experienced with his own dad — an unconventional, not-always-employed father who let the salty language flow freely, but who also provided memorable adventures and plenty of love and attention for his kids.
