Bonnier Editor Writes How-to Book from Weldon Owen on Being a Dad

When you search “fatherhood” on Amazon, you get roughly 4,000 results. But none of those books has instructions for rigging an iPhone as a baby monitor, or creating a ninja obstacle course for your toddler. That’s what sets apart Show Dad How, an instruction manual for new dads written by Parenting Executive Editor Shawn Bean and published by Weldon Owen.

“My mission was to write the book that I couldn’t find when I was starting a family,” says Bean, father of Jackson, 7, and Tanner, 4. “My wife, Brandy, shared her copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, and I must say, it was the most interesting coaster I ever had on my nightstand.”

Show Dad How has Bean’s irreverent humor, which Parenting readers find each month in his column Pop Culture and his blog on Parenting.com, combined with bold visuals produced by Weldon Owen’s team of award-winning illustrators. The book features more than 150 how-tos, from delivering a baby on the subway (#48) to inventing a fairy tale (#153).

Bean says the book’s essential message is that there’s a difference between being a father and being a dad, and the latter requires a higher level of dedication. “Darth Vader said, ‘Luke, I am your father,’” Bean writes in the book’s introduction. “He didn’t say, ‘Luke, I am your dad.’”