Crawling A Father's First Year

"There's a head sticking out of my best friend . . . This isn't a miracle, it's assault. I'd call 911 but we're already in a hospital." So begins the birth of Elisha Cooper's daughter, and so begins this touching and hilarious chronicle of his year as a first-time father. Cooper gives voice to the life-changing joy, anxiety, exhaustion, and pride of new parents everywhere. At first he struggles with the "pink plastic tsunami" of baby gifts, before eventually coming to see the value of the flashy electric baby swing he nicknames "Las Vegas." He wishes he could go for a walk with his wife, alone. He worries about protecting his child, even as he comes to the growing realization that he cannot. And throughout, he discovers new ways in which his life has changed. What's changed? Everything. Parents of all stripes will immediately recognize themselves here, from the bewildering numbness of sleep deprivation to the overpowering wonder felt when looking into the eyes of one's child. Figuring it outgetting it right or getting it wrongis all part of being a new father. Elisha Cooper has recorded every single moment of it in this charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply loving book. From the Hardcover edition.

Elisha Cooper is the author of the acclaimed children's book Dance! (one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year), Ice Cream, and Magic Thinks Big. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two daughters.