15 Father's Day story ideas, each one a book your child stars in: Papa's shoulders, a fixed bicycle and a small hero who wants to be just like him. Pick one, add a few details, and the illustrated book starts right away.
Every story is painted in a soft, hand-drawn watercolour look, with your child as the hero of the big day.
Father's DayAt the Father's Day mela, Your child cannot see over the crowd. Papa lifts Your child onto his shoulders, and suddenly the whole mela is there: the ferris wheel, the balloon seller, the jalebi stall. Later, Papa's shoulders are tired, so Your child carries the jalebi bag, the balloons and the tickets all the way home. It is a fair trade.
Lesson: Being lifted up is a gift you can pass on
Father's DayYour child's bicycle chain has come off and Papa is busy with his laptop. So Your child fetches the toolbox, watches a video twice and gets oil everywhere. When Papa finally comes out, the chain is back on, crooked but working. Papa does not fix it. He just gets on the back and says: show me how it rides.
Lesson: Trying on your own is how you learn to be trusted
Father's DayPapa promised to come for the school annual day, but the seat beside Mummy is empty when the curtain rises. Your child dances anyway, looking at the door. Halfway through, a man in a crumpled office shirt slips in, breathless, clapping louder than anyone. Afterwards Papa says sorry, and Your child says the ending was the best part, because he was there for it.
Lesson: Showing up, even late, is what love looks like
Father's DayPapa's tool box is a jumble, and every Sunday he wastes half an hour looking for the right spanner. For Father's Day, Your child empties the whole box on newspaper, sorts every screw and tool by size, and draws labels on strips of cardboard. Papa opens the box, finds the spanner in two seconds, and says it is the most useful gift he has ever received.
Lesson: A gift that saves someone's time is a gift of time
Father's DayPapa always bowls slowly so Your child can hit the ball, and Your child has just realised it. On Father's Day, Your child asks him to bowl properly, for real. The first three balls whizz past. The fourth, Your child connects and sends it over the wall. Papa cheers louder than he has ever cheered, because this one was real, and Your child knows it too.
Lesson: Ask for the real challenge; the real win feels better
Father's DayPapa leaves at seven and returns at eight, and Your child has never seen where he goes. On Father's Day, Your child is allowed to visit the office. There is a small desk, a plant, and a photo of Your child taped to the computer. Papa's colleagues all know Your child's name. On the way home, Your child holds Papa's hand tighter, understanding a little more where the long days go.
Lesson: See someone's world and you understand their tired evenings
Father's DayMummy is away and Papa's Father's Day dinner is a burnt disaster, and he looks defeated. Your child does not laugh. Your child fetches Nani's recipe notebook, reads out the khichdi recipe step by step, and does the stirring while Papa does the chopping. It comes out perfect. Papa says he was the cook, and Your child lets him say it, and writes 'Papa's khichdi' in the notebook.
Lesson: Help someone succeed and let them have the credit
Father's DayPapa is making a big fuss of Father's Day for himself, and Your child notices that Dadaji, who is Papa's father, has been forgotten. Your child takes Papa aside and points it out. Papa goes quiet, then the two of them make a card together for Dadaji. When Dadaji opens it, he says it is the first Father's Day card he has received in sixty years. Papa says sorry, and means it.
Lesson: Remind a father that he is also a son
Father's DayPapa walks alone at five every morning, and Your child has always been asleep. On Father's Day, Your child sets an alarm and appears at the door in shoes. Papa is surprised. They walk the whole route: the lake, the temple, the tea stall where the man knows Papa's order. Papa talks about things he never mentions at dinner. Your child sets the alarm again the next day.
Lesson: Share someone's quiet time and they share their thoughts
Father's DayPapa taught Your child to ride a bicycle, running behind and holding the seat. Now Papa wants to learn to swim, and is embarrassed to be a beginner. On Father's Day, Your child takes him to the shallow end, holds his hand the way he held the seat, and says 'I have got you' every time he panics. By the end of the month, Papa swims a width, and Your child runs along the edge cheering.
Lesson: The one who taught you can be taught by you
Father's DayPapa irons his own shirt every morning, badly and in a hurry. On Father's Day eve, Your child asks Dadi to teach ironing, and practises on old dupattas until the creases are sharp. Papa's best shirt is ironed and hung on the door. In the morning he puts it on, looks in the mirror, and says the whole office will think he has a new wife. Mummy throws a cushion at him.
Lesson: Learn a skill so you can take a small weight off someone
Father's DayPapa drives a truck and is on the road for Father's Day, somewhere between two cities. Your child records a message: a song, a joke, the little brother saying 'Papa' for the first time. Mummy sends it. That night Papa calls from a dhaba, and says he played it twenty times, and the other drivers asked to hear it too. Now the whole dhaba knows Your child's joke.
Lesson: A message sent with love travels any distance
Father's DayPapa's watch, the one his own father gave him, stopped years ago and sits in a drawer. Papa says it cannot be fixed. Your child takes it to the old watchmaker near the market, who says it just needs cleaning and a tiny spring, and does it for the price of a samosa. On Father's Day, Papa opens a small box and hears the watch ticking. He does not say anything for a long time.
Lesson: Do not give up on something that only needs care
Father's DayThe school asks every child to draw a superhero for Father's Day, and the class draws capes and masks. Your child draws Papa in his ordinary shirt, carrying a gas cylinder up four floors, with a tiny speech bubble that says 'no problem'. The teacher pins it in the middle. Papa sees it at the parents' evening and asks if he can keep it. It is now on the wall above his desk.
Lesson: Real superheroes carry things up the stairs
Father's DayAt the fair, Papa goes white at the top of the giant wheel; it turns out he is scared of heights and never said. Your child has always thought Papa was scared of nothing. Instead of laughing, Your child holds his hand, talks about the tea stall far below and counts down the turns. At the bottom, Papa breathes out and says thank you. Your child says that is what family is for.
Lesson: Even the strongest people need a hand sometimes