Who's in your family? Some children live with their mum and dad, others live with their grandparents or foster parents. Some live in a big house, others live in a tiny apartment. With captivating illustrations, Every Family is Different celebrates what it means to be part of a family, and reminds us that there's something that's always the same in every family...
Different can be great! Makayla is visiting friends in her neighborhood. She sees how each family is different. Some families have lots of children, but others have none. Some friends live with grandparents or have two dads or have parents who are divorced. How is her own family like the others? What makes each one great? This diverse cast allows readers to compare and contrast families in multiple ways.
No matter your size, shape, or pedigree--if you love each other, you are a family! Moms, dads, sisters, brothers — and even Great Aunt Sue — appear in dozens of combinations, demonstrating all kinds of nontraditional families! Silly animals are cleverly depicted in framed portraits, and offer a warm celebration of family love. From School Library Journal PreS-Gr 1—Imagine a house with many rooms, whose walls each have a different color or wallpaper, accenting a family portrait hanging there. On a rustic wooden wall hangs the first portrait—a large family of ducks posing beside a still pond. The next spread shows three pandas in pink vests, much like the pink oriental wallpaper behind them. Each portrait features a gently rhyming line: "Some children live with their grandparents…/and some live with an aunt./Some children have many pets…/and some just have a plant." All of these appealing images demonstrate different ways of being a family. "Some children live with their father./ Some children have two mothers./Some children are adopted./Some have stepsisters and—brothers." The cartoon-style critters contrast pleasantly with more realistic elements—a bamboo plant, a slender ceramic dog, a fat ceramic cat. Families of hippos, tigers, lions, ostriches, and whales join the other family groups in the final spread. The loud-and-clear message is that "if you love each other, then you are a family." And imagine the many children who will be reassured because they have found a portrait of a family they will recognize as their own. A solid choice for most libraries.—Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN
All families change over time. Sometimes a baby is born, or a grown-up gets married. And sometimes a child gets a new foster parent or a new adopted mom or dad. Children need to know that when this happens, it’s not their fault. They need to understand that they can remember and value their birth family and love their new family, too. Straightforward words and full-color illustrations offer hope and support for children facing or experiencing change. Includes resources and information for birth parents, foster parents, social workers, counselors, and teachers.
Mechal Renee Roe, illustrator of Vice President Kamala Harris's Super Heroes Are Everywhere, creates a joyful, positive, read-together book celebrating boys with natural black hair that will have kids everywhere chanting: "I am born to be awesome!" When the stars shine, the world is mine! I am born to be awesome! My hair is free, just like me! I am born to be awesome! Boys will love seeing strong, happy reflections of themselves in this vibrant, rhythmic book full of hip Black hairstyles. From a 'fro-hawk to mini-twists and crisp cornrows, adorable illustrations of boys with cool curls, waves, and afros grace each page, accompanied by a positive message that will make kids cheer. It's a great read-aloud to promote positive self-esteem to boys of all ages, building and growing the foundation of self-love (and hair love!) and letting every boy know that "You are born to be awesome!" Look for all the books in the Happy Hair series: • Happy Hair • I'm Growing Great • Smart Sisters • I Am Born to Be Awesome! (Step Into Reading) • I Love Being Me! (Step Into Reading)
The question “Are those kids yours?” has a familiar ring to parents who have adopted children from South Korea, India, Colombia, the Philippines, and other countries. As natural and normal as it feels to them to be together, such families are often asked to explain their obvious difference. In rich personal stories drawn from her own experience as the mother of two Korean-born daughters and from interviews with other parents and with adopted children from six to thirty, Cheri Register both affirms the normality of internationally adoptive families and highlights the special challenges they do indeed face. The book addresses many central questions about international adoption: why children are in need of adoption outside the country of their birth, why parents choose to adopt from other countries, and how parents and children of very different origins become a “real” family. International adoption is a controversial matter in countries from which children are coming to the United States, but adoptive families have had little voice as yet in the debate. With honest, thoughtful analysis honed by personal experience, Register addresses the ethical issues inevitably raised by adoption across lines of culture, race, and social class: Are parents in the wealthier nations entitled to raise children left homeless in other parts of the world by poverty or social stigma? Is placement in another country an appropriate solution for children whose parents cannot raise them? Insightful, comprehensive, and eloquent, Are Those Kids Yours? is a unique resource for parents raising internationally adopted children and for those who are contemplating intercountry adoption as well as for the children as they grow up, their extended families and friends, and adoption and mental health professionals.
When a teacher asks her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different, but the same in one important way ... When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One has many stepsiblings, and another has a new baby in the family. As her classmates describe who they live with and who loves them — family of every shape, size and every kind of relation — the child realizes that as long as her family is full of caring people, it is special. A warm and whimsical look at many types of families, written by award-winning author Sara O’Leary, with quirky and sweet illustrations by Qin Leng. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6 Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
This fun, inclusive board book celebrates the one thing that makes every family a family . . . and that's LOVE. Love is baking a special cake. Love is lending a helping hand. Love is reading one more book. In this exuberant board book, many different families are shown in happy activity, from an early-morning wake-up to a kiss before bed. Whether a child has two moms, two dads, one parent, or one of each, this simple preschool read-aloud demonstrates that what's most important in each family's life is the love the family members share.
