My father is my best friend and confidante. I can tell him anything. Not only is Dad incredibly smart and a successful lawyer, he is deeply creative too. From photography to creating practically anything out of clay (he’s a whiz!), he never ceases to amaze me with his passion to imagine, be playful, and create.

My favorite memories growing up are waiting for him to come home from work so we could sit down and do an art project together. All those afternoons sitting at the kitchen table or in the darkroom cultivated my own passion for art and makeup. In fact, when I first told him I wanted to be a makeup artist he teased, “Ok, so you’re gonna take Mascara 101?” (Dad is always ready with a joke.) But, just as he encouraged me to pursue my dreams as a child, he was fully on board with letting me pursue my path—as long as I got my degree, of course.

A cool little side story: when I was graduating high school, Dad tried talking me into going to college overseas which, back in those days, no one ever did. He thought I’d love experiencing a totally new adventure. I was too chicken and enrolled at Emerson instead which I loved (and the rest is history). Just goes to show how my father was always a step ahead of the crowd— even me.

The other thing about Dad is his obsessive love of books (he’s the most handsome bookworm I know). He is never without something new to read and instilled that same love of learning in me and my kids too.

His passion for literacy is what inspired him to pursue his own lifelong dream: to write children’s books. Based on the bedtime stories he used to tell me as a child, “The Flights of Marceau”  is a series of books published by Scholastic about a taxi driver who uses his imagination to dream up incredible adventures. And they’re all in rhyme—I can never get over how clever he is. Make sure to check out his awesome Facebook Page here.

These days, you can find my father reading his books to a different classroom of students three to five times a week. At the end of each visit he gives a brand new book to each child. For Dad, it’s not about selling books any more, it’s about getting kids to fall in love with reading and find the magic in their own imaginations.

I myself could never imagine having a better dad. Happy Father’s Day,  Joe Brown.

xo,

Bobbi