Saturday night, my dad and I attended our fourth annual father/daughter ball, and it was a blast. Dinner, a great speaker, dessert (the best part of the night! … I kid, I kid!), dancing, and games (we won one ‘How well do you know your father/daughter’ game and a raffle prize!). I had a great time. As I was spending an amazing night with my amazing dad, I started thinking about my favorite fictional father/daughter duos and decided to share them with you all!

Jane Austen’s Mr. Bennet is by far my favorite fictional father. He’s so understanding and patient (he has to be to be married to Mrs. Bennet!) and his relationships with his daughters are unique. I love Donald Sutherland in the 2005 P&P movie.

Robert Quimby – otherwise known as Beezus, Ramona, and Roberta’s pretty awesome dad. (Is it just me or does Mr. Quimby’s facial expression look like Mr. Bennet’s in the pictures I chose?) Robert Quimby has a great sense of humor and despite having lost his job, he stays positive for his girls. I love that about him.

Best thing about P.L. Travers’ Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins? He’s really not fictional. If you’ve never read the book ‘Mary Poppins,’ GO GET IT. The movie does not do it justice, though I do love Julie Andrews. Then watch the best movie ever made, Saving Mr. Banks and WATCH IT. I was bawling like a baby at the end, by oh goodness, it was incredible.

The Long Way Home, the second book in the Family Tree series by Ann M. Martin, is my favorite of the three-book series (soon to be a fourth!) because I love Dana’s father, Zander. Though he makes mistakes, he loves his girls and his family and Dana clearly adores him. Zander Barnes reminded me bit of Mr. Banks, and there’s tear stains on my copy of this book, too.

These four fathers each remind me a bit of my own dad, and I cried with them and laughed with them and loved them! I really recommend you to go read all of the books they’re in; the books are fabulous, and I promise you’ll fall in love with the dads just as much as I did!

Who are your favorite fictional fathers? Why do you like them?