Written by Dan Saks and Illustrated by Brooke Smart Reviewed by Emily Richardson, 2021-2022
“A family is love, no matter how it looks, And when they are together, like the pages in this book, Your family’s a story that’s unique and true. A family is beautiful, as beautiful as you.”
This picture book is a celebration of the many forms family can take and demonstrates how love abounds no matter the composition. This book is a wonderful opportunity for young readers, in particular, to gain exposure to and explore the stories of others and their families, and gain perspective about the differences or similarities they might share with others. It pushes back on the dominant narrative of the white, middle-class, nuclear family unit and normalizes different kinds of identities and ways of being that exist in families.
This book could be easily integrated into beginning lessons on identity and diversity in a kindergarten or first-grade classroom, especially at the beginning of the year as students begin to explore their own identity and how that relates to the narratives of those around them. It features families belonging to different religions, families who do not look alike, families navigating divorce, those with experience with immigration and of being a refugee, families with same-sex parents, intergenerational households, and more – all in an understated but beautifully colorful picture book under 30 pages. With this in mind, it could also be easily adapted to classrooms with older students. It also features a rhyme scheme that supports students in their development of phonemic awareness.
This book provides windows for all students into the types of families that exist and provides mirrors for students who belong to family units that often go underrepresented and are regularly excluded in mainstream children’s literature. It provides an accessible opener for conversations about the meaning of family and how love should always be at the core of the concept of family, whether that family is chosen or not. This book is a great choice for promoting representation, developing acceptance and respectful curiosity around difference, and celebrating the diversity that makes families unique and beautiful.
I like your idea of using the rhyme scheme to develop phonemic awareness! And that cover is soooo cute 🙂
It’s also a board book which I think lends itself particularly well to the younger ages really beginning to concentrate on developing those skills, too 🙂
This book looks awesome, especially for units on identity and diversity as you mentioned. I imagine that this would open up wonderful conversations in primary grade classrooms!
The language is so kid-friendly and honors the concept of diversity in such simple and concrete terms. I think the fact that it also weaves in an element of universality in a way that doesn’t detract from the beauty in difference makes it especially engaging and endearing to younger students.
Thanks for this review Emily! I would love to read this book to my class. I think using this as a jumping off point for bigger identity and diversity conversations makes sense and it’s cool that it could work for those younger grades. “Love should always be at the core of the concept of family, whether that family is chosen or not.” I feel like I want my students to be reminded of this every day!
It would make a great read aloud book and, now that I think about it, could also be a good one for beginning readers (maybe more in 1st and 2nd) as it is not too long, there is not too many words on each page, and many words are either high frequency words or words that lend themselves to being identified through sounding it out.
What a delightful cover and review! Its great to have books that are inclusive and representative of families outside the nuclear norm.
You would love the pictures, they are too precious (picture family game nights, dance parties with grandparents, and gentle snuggles galore). Families with separated/divorced parents, single parents, with different generations living together are all celebrated here, among many others 🙂
I love the quote you started with! I also loved how you kept that language throughout the entire review. Families are love and they are beautiful! I think you would also like the book I just reviewed “A Family is a Family is a Family”.