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Manatee County father becomes published author with book from the heart

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Updated  April 18, 2025 6:56pm EDT
Manatee County
FOX 13 News

Manatee County father becomes published author with book from the heart

FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports.

The Brief

    • A Manatee County man hopes his book's message of love from a father to his kids continues to spread.
    • Andrew Stillman owns a tree service company but was inspired to write a book for his children.
    • He connected with a then 16-year-old illustrator from Sarasota who helped make his story come to life.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A Manatee County father wrote a book from the heart with a message of love from a father to his children.

He hopes the message will spread throughout the world.

The backstory:

"My Favorite Job in the Whole Wide World" was written by Andrew Stillman. He’s a father of nine and this is the first book he’s ever published.

He told FOX 13 the message is something all children should hear, and no father should ever be afraid to express it.

"It just so happens and makes me glad that I alone get to be your dad," Stillman read aloud.

Students from Rowlett Academy in Bradenton sit and listen closely, as Stillman read.

What inspired Stillman to write his first book?

"If I could be a World Cup winner and score all the goals it would still make me bitter because I would rather be your dad," he shared.

These are lines Stillman jotted down, after his daughter’s soccer tournament a few years back.

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"She came up and gave me a hug and said, ‘Dad, I love you.’ I said, ‘You know what my favorite job is in the whole world?’ She said, ‘What’s that?’ I said, 'Being your dad," he recounted.

After thinking about what he said, Stillman went to work writing his first children’s book.

"I thought kids need to hear that more often," he explained.

Writing isn’t Stillman’s full-time career.

He owns Stillman’s Tree Services, and he knows the challenges fathers can face.

Why you should care:

"[In] today’s society it’s hard for the men to communicate their feelings to their children and this makes it very simple for dads to sit down with his kids, and let them know no matter what happens in life, you are number one in my book. I would rather be your dad than any other opportunity that would come around. I don’t think kids get that message enough. For me, that’s what touches my life," he said.

To help dads and their kids connect to the story, he received some help from a young illustrator, Lindsey Canna.

"She drew all these by hand. She’s only 17. She’s still in school," said Stillman.

Canna hopes her pictures inspire the next generation of artists.

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"I hope they can feel inspired to work on their art because it doesn’t matter how old you are, I tell my nieces and nephews all the time, you can definitely be an artist. I hope all kids can feel that way," said Canna.

It’s a book from the heart.

"I hope they just feel really loved and cherished from the book," she said.

That is already making a difference.

"I get some photos every now and then with these big burly men with these beads reading this book to their little prince or princesses, and it warms my heart. That’s the whole goal. It’s not about the money, kids need to know how their dads feel about them," said Stillman.

You can purchase "My Favorite Job in the Whole Wide World," online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

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The Source: FOX 13's Kimberly Kuzion collected the information in this story.

Manatee County