Who is the main subject in the nonfiction book, Things My Son Needs to Know About the World?

Backman's son, who goes nameless throughout the book, is the subject of most of the short essays. While not much can be determined of his son's character, as he is only a year and a half old at the time the book was written, the stories and lessons that Backman tells to his son about himself display the loving and caring environment that he is growing up in. However, based on Backman's accounts of his son's behavior he is an active, joyful young child- Backman says that he will always remember him as the "tiny one-year-old boy standing naked in the hallway with a toothless grin" (2). Backman's son is a character who may resonate with many readers as he is reminiscent of most people's experience of infancy, whether or not they are parents themselves.