Review: Things I've Said to My Children by Nathan Ripperger

Title: Things I've Said to My Children
Author: Nathan Ripperger
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: September 15th 2015
Source: Ten Speed Press


Book Description:

An illustrated gift book that brings to life the universal parenting experience of saying strange and hilarious things to one's kids.

As the father of five boys (all under age 10), graphic designer Nathan Ripperger has found himself saying some rather funny, absurd, and downright bizarre things to his children, from "Stop riding that penguin, we're leaving" to "I am NOT talking to you until you are wearing underwear." He created poster-like images for each and posted them online. The response from other parents was overwhelming. With Things I've Said to My Children, Ripperger has assembled around 80 of the funniest, weirdest, and most amusing sayings and paired them with full-color, designed images that bring these outrageously hysterical quotes to life. Covering the essential parenting topics like food, animals, don'ts, and of course, bodily functions, Things I've Said to My Children is a light-hearted illustrated reminder of the shared absurdity of parenthood. Especially for those parents who've ever found themselves uttering some variation of the line, "Please don't eat the goldfish crackers you've put in your butt."

Review:

★★★★

This book is hilarious. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I requested it, but I definitely laughed more than I ever anticipated. My girlfriend likes to take out of context quotes from me and place them on Facebook. This is kind of the same concept. It's a collection of odd quotes, paired with artwork, of some of the asinine things parents have to say to their children.

It's a funny collection, and the artwork is really fun and very bright and colorful. I actually read it aloud from my computer to my girlfriend, and it had us both laughing. It's about kids, but I'd recommend it for the parents who have to say this kind of nonsense as part of their daily routine.

I'm not going to spoil the entire book for you, because that would be a mean thing to do. I am, however, going to share my three favorite quotes from this book to give you a taste of what waits for you inside the book:

"Stop eating cake out of the garbage, you already brushed your teeth."

"I am not talking to you until you are wearing underwear."

"Ham is not a Band-Aid. Let's not put ham on our knees."

This is a very fast read that's full of hilarious one-sentence quotes and cute illustrations. As mentioned before, I think parents will enjoy it the most.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.