Fathers
Italian novelist Umberto Eco wrote, "I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us." This study guide collection gathers texts that explore what it means to be a father and what profound lessons their presence—or absence—teaches us.
Full Measures
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Funny In Farsi
Game Changer
George's Marvelous Medicine
Gerald's Game
Good for a Girl
Goodnight Mister Tom
Good Talk
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Great and Precious Things
Half Brother
Hands
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Heart of a Champion
Heart-Shaped Box
Heavenly Bodies
Hebrew Bible
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 2
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Death, Future, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, War, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies
Publication year 2006
Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction
Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Family, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Literature, Truth & Lies, Femininity, Masculinity
Tags LGBTQ+, Life-Inspired Fiction, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Parenting, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Grief & Death, Gender & Feminism, Biography
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2006) is a graphic novel memoir written and illustrated by underground cartoonist Alison Bechdel. The book centers on Bechdel’s relationship with her late father Bruce Allen Bechdel, who died in what she believes was a death by suicide. Fun Home is a non-linear narrative that rehashes events from Alison Bechdel’s youth and adolescence. Her memories are presented in the comic panels, overlayed with her prosaic, retrospective musings in text boxes... Read Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Summary
Publication year 2003
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Immigration, Fathers, Coming of Age
Tags Humor, Creative Nonfiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Education, Education, Biography
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing up in America is a 2003 book by Firoozeh Dumas in which she describes her experiences as an Iranian immigrant to the US. The narrative follows a non-linear time structure, and Dumas often moves between different eras of her life, including the time of writing, when she is an adult. Much of her work centers on what life was like for her as a child who came to... Read Funny In Farsi Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Teamwork, Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Forgiveness, Guilt, Memory, Conflict, Hope, Mothers, Fathers, Childhood & Youth, Masculinity, Truth & Lies, Fear, Family
Tags Sports, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Aging, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Family, Mothers, Fathers
Tags Fantasy, Humor, Children`s Literature, Magical Realism, British Literature
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fathers, Marriage, Self Discovery, Mental Health, Guilt
Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Survival Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Trauma & Abuse
Publication year 2023
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Perseverance, Hope, Joy, Femininity, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Fathers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Equality, Wins & Losses, Emotions/Behavior: Courage
Tags Biography, Sports, Gender & Feminism, Health, Women`s Studies
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Gratitude, Love, Childhood & Youth, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Community, War, Safety & Danger
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, World War II
Goodnight Mister Tom is a work of historical fiction written by Michelle Magorian and published in 1981. The novel is aimed at an audience of middle grade readers. It tells the story of eight-year-old William Beech, who, at the start of WWII, has to move with his abusive mother from an impoverished suburb of London to the countryside, where they are in the care of an elderly recluse, Thomas Oakley. The novel explores the impact... Read Goodnight Mister Tom Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction
Themes Family, Race, Daughters & Sons, Friendship, Mothers, Siblings, Marriage, Fathers, Community, Memory, Future, Fear, Conflict, Loneliness
Tags Race & Racism, Politics & Government, 9/11, Relationships, LGBTQ+, Grief & Death, Parenting, Social Justice, Immigration & Refugeeism, Biography
Publication year 1953
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Race, Sexual Identity, Family, Shame & Pride, Fathers, Equality
Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Love & Sexuality, Religion & Spirituality, Race & Racism, American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Go Tell it on the Mountain is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Baldwin. Published in 1953, the novel tells the story of a teenager in 1930s Harlem named John Grimes as well as his wider family, dealing with themes of religion, sexuality, and race. This guide uses an eBook version of the Modern Penguin Classics edition of the novel. Plot SummaryGo Tell it on the Mountain is set on the 14th birthday of the protagonist... Read Go Tell It on the Mountain Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Death, Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Disability, Mental Health, Aging, The Past, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies
Tags Romance, Military & War, Contemporary Literature, Dramatic Literature
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Forgiveness, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Loneliness, Language, Coming of Age, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Nature Versus Nurture, Fathers, Siblings, Teamwork, Justice, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Animals, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Half Brother (2010) is a young adult novel by Kenneth Oppel. In the novel, Oppel combines and fictionalizes several experiments in which chimpanzees learned sign language to communicate. The story follows the Tomlin family as they adopt a baby chimpanzee to see if it can learn and use language. Through this experiment and its effect on the characters, the text explores the themes of family, belonging, animal rights, communication, individuality, and growing up. The novel... Read Half Brother Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Self Discovery, Community, Fathers
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Sports, Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature
Publication year 2016
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Fate, Truth & Lies, Guilt
Tags Fantasy, Drama, Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) is a two-part play written by Jack Thorne, based on an original story collaboratively created by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne himself. Set in the universe of the Harry Potter books penned by J. K. Rowling, the play follows events occurring 19 years after the epilogue of the seventh book, The Deathly Hallows (2007); the story revolves around Albus Potter, the second son and middle child... Read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Summary
Publication year 1994
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Mothers, Masculinity, Fathers, Grief, Wins & Losses
Tags Sports, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Relationships, Coming of Age, Grief & Death, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Originally published in 1993, Heart of a Champion is a young adult novel written by award-winning author Carl Deuker, whose work is primarily about sports and intended for young adult readers. The novel is the first-person narrative of a California boy, Seth, whose father died prematurely, leaving a huge void. Seth befriends Jimmy, whose love of baseball quickly becomes Seth’s passion as well. After the death of his friend after an alcohol-induced car crash, Seth... Read Heart of a Champion Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Guilt, Love, Masculinity, Mental Health, Death, Fathers, Self Discovery, Safety & Danger
Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Heart-Shaped Box (2007) is the debut novel of horror writer Joe Hill, son of the famous Stephen King. The novel is a contemporary Gothic story about Judas “Jude” Coyne, a retired rock star hunted by a ghost. His confrontation with the ghost forces him and his girlfriend, Marybeth “Georgia” Kimball, to confront their respective pasts and current relationship. Hill went on to publish novels such as Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013), and The Fireman (2016), as... Read Heart-Shaped Box Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fate, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Fathers, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, War, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Fantasy, Romance, New Adult, Survival Fiction
Publication year -600
Genre Scripture, Nonfiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Future, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Marriage, Community, Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos
Tags Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Jewish Literature
The Hebrew Bible is the standard canon of Jewish sacred texts, composed in a period that falls across the second and first millennia BCE. It is also referred to as the Tanakh, an acrostic portmanteau of the three major sections of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah (“teaching”), the Nevi’im (“prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“writings”). The Hebrew Bible is a collection of 24 major texts, in which there are 39 books. These 39 books correspond to... Read Hebrew Bible Summary
Publication year 1597
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Fathers, Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, British Literature, Historical Drama, Drama, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Historical Fiction
Henry IV, Part 1 is the second play in English playwright William Shakespeare’s Henriad tetralogy, preceded by Richard II. The play was written sometime prior to 1597, and it was a hit with critics and audiences. Henry IV, Part 1 introduces Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare’s most enduringly popular characters, who also appears in Henry IV, Part 2 and The Merry Wives of Windsor. The play follows the wayward Prince Hal, the son of... Read Henry IV, Part 1 Summary
Publication year 1600
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Death, Fathers, Politics & Government
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Drama, British Literature, Drama
Henry IV, Part 2 is a play by William Shakespeare, first performed in 1600. The play continues the story of King Henry IV’s troubled reign as rebellion still threatens England and the king’s health rapidly declines. Henry’s son, Prince Hal, prepares to assume the crown, gradually separating himself from his former life with the dissolute knight Falstaff and his associates. The play culminates in Henry IV’s death, Hal’s ascension as King Henry V, and his... Read Henry IV, Part 2 Summary