My Tattooed Dad

Dad goes and comes. Like the day, like the night. A young boy describes what life is like when his dad comes home -- how he fries up chicken samosas for dinner, how he makes jokes and fools around, and how he carries him off to bed when he is sleepy. His dad also tells wonderful stories of his adventures in far-off lands, often inspired by his many exotic tattoos.

His letters to his son are full of great stories about the past -- what the first date with the boy's mother was like and how he saved the boy's life twice, once when he was stolen from his baby basket by a dog and once when he flew out the car window. But as his mother says, his dad has ants in his pants, which means he's often not around. Still, life rolls along with one fantastical tale after another, in good times and bad.

This extraordinary father's gift is the life of the imagination, which is always with his son, even when he is not.