Steve Caplin and Simon Rose published Dad Stuff: Shedloads of Ideas for Dads last November in the UK. Then last month, I guess because depending on how you say it, "shedloads of ideas" doesn't really work as a gifty book title, they came out with Be the Coolest Dad on the Block: All of the Tricks, Games, Puzzles and Jokes You Need to Impress Your Kids (and Keep Them Entertained for Years to Com, a subtitle so long it was even truncated by Amazon.
I don't know what the real difference is, but there's gotta be some serious overlap between the two books; otherwise, why were they holding back all the cool stuff from the first book, right? Cheapskates.
[update: Simon Rose explains in the comments it's the same book. The US publishers changed the title because they didn't think American dads knew what a shed was. Like how they changed the title of the movie, The Madness of George III to The Madness of King George so Americans wouldn't think it was a sequel. Kinda makes you proud, doesn't it?]
Anyway, the shtick is, these are--honestly, what can I write that isn't just a repeat of that subtitle? Forget it. Just take a look at the excerpt that ran in the Guardian, and you'll get the idea. I have to say, I do that chopstick thing all the time for the kid, and she thinks I'm a total rockstar for it. AND, now she can pick up single edamame by herself [haven't tried jelly beans yet, though]:
Chopsticks for butter fingers.Things Every Dad Should Know [guardian]
Fasten the chopsticks together near the top with a rubber band. Roll up the wrapper the chopsticks came in and shove it between the chopsticks, leaving a couple of winds of the band below.
Buy Dad Stuff at amazon uk for £6.22, or buy Be the Coolest Dad on the Block: &c., &c., for either £5.84 (uk) or $9.56 (us) [amazon]
"Serious overlap" between the 2 books? I'll say. They're the same book. Please don't buy both (well, DO, but don't say I didn't warn you).
Mustn't be clear from Amazon but the long title is that chosen by our American publishers for its recent debut over there. They didn't think Dad Stuff would work in America and didn't seem to know what a "shed" was!
Rest assured, we're working on a Dad Stuff 2 which will have NO overlap.
Simon Rose (and Steve Caplin)