LOVE YOU, DAD: A Book of Thanks

Celebrating Dads and All They Do

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              WASHINGTON (April 10, 2012)—Dads. They teach us how to ride a bike, they’re there to bandage scraped knees or help with homework, they laugh at our jokes,  they encourage us when we’re feeling down. Just in time for Father’s Day, National Geographic highlights the reasons we love and appreciate our dads in a new book, LOVE YOU, DAD: A Book of Thanks (National Geographic Books; ISBN 978-1-4262-0923-9; on-sale date: May 1, 2012; $9.95 hardcover). Written by Melina Gerosa Bellows, the book celebrates fatherhood with amusing and heartfelt thank-yous illustrated with adorable images and father facts from the animal kingdom.

In her introduction, Bellows reflects on her own relationship with her dad, how much she owes him and how much he has shaped her over the years. “In my family as in so many others, we never put that stuff — the really important stuff — into words. So I turned to my animal friends, those rock stars of the animal kingdom who capture the true spirit of fatherhood. Perhaps they can help us articulate something we don’t have the words to say ourselves. For example, male sea horses give birth. Male catfish carry marble-size eggs in their mouths for six weeks, surviving off their own body fat as they nurture their young. Emperor penguins starve and freeze for two long months in order to protect the egg — balanced on their feet — that holds their baby chick. These ani­mal fathers’ selfless instincts — to care and protect, to love and nurture — helped inspire me to write this book.”

Each page spread in LOVE YOU, DAD features a thank-you message with an apt animal image and facts about the male of that particular species. For instance, “Love you, Dad, for showing me how to stand out in a crowd,” shows a picture of meerkats and the fact that father meerkats protect their young from intruders; “Love you, Dad, for telling me the best scary stories,” is illustrated with an image of a longhorned beetle and the fact that males of that species use their claw-like jaws to battle each other.

A perfect gift for Father’s Day on June 17, for a new dad or just to tell your dad how special he is, LOVE YOU, DAD is an inspirational tribute to fathers and the special role they play in their offspring’s lives.

About the Author

         Melina Gerosa Bellows is chief creative officer for National Geographic Books, Kids and Family, which includes the award-winning, No. 1 children’s magazine National Geographic Kids. In addition to authoring nine books, including “Mother’s Love: Inspiring True Stories from the Animal Kingdom” and “Nat Geo AMAZING! 100 People, Places, and Things That Will Wow You” for National Geographic Books, she has written for such publications as Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Cosmopolitan and Glamour. She has appeared on such television shows as NBC’s “Today” show, ABC’s “The View,” Fox’s “Good Day New York” and “Fox and Friends” and CNN.