The Great Big Book of Families

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This list comprises books which include disabled characters within their images and/or story naturally, subtly and often without comment. What is a family? Once, it was said to be a father, mother, boy, girl, cat and dog living in a house with a garden. But as times have changed, families have changed too, and now there are almost as many kinds of families as colours of the rainbow. Clearly, the children are meant to be in costumes, playing dress up. As you see, one child is dressed up in what we're meant to see as an "Indian" or "Native American." Categories: Acceptance & Inclusion, Adoption & Fostering, Being Different & Being Yourself, Divorce / Separation, Non-traditional Families The Great Big Book of Families’ is a brilliant text which can be used to support practitioners in exploring family diversity and celebrating that families are all different.

Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.” This clever book is taking a truly 21st Century look at family life... In spite of managing to reflect the reality of life for all families, the book refrains from making value judgements. No family is depicted as better or worse than any other – just different." Update (1): Shortly after I published this post, a reader wrote to say that their copy says "Costume Party" instead of "Fancy Dress." They have a 2010 copy with a "reprint" year of 2011. I wonder when and why that change was made? I assume the original said "Costume Party" and that someone objected right away, and so those words were changed to "Fancy Dress." It doesn't make a difference. We know what they're doing. What it is called doesn't matter. The problems in that choice are many. First, it is a stereotypical illustration. Second, even if it were accurate, it ought not be shown as an option in an array of dress-up costumes.Some might argue that kids dressing up like that is an accurate reflection of what kids do, and it is, but it should not be something they do! Books like this reinforce that play and encourage stereotypical thinking about who we are---and that, of course, is a problem! Dressing up like that is similar to the mascots that were created to "honor" Native peoples. If people really wanted to honor us, they'd hear us when we say "stop doing that" instead of trying to defend what they're doing. Walking Brain Cells (blog, UK): “a warm, welcoming book where all children will see parts of themselves represented” The Great Big Book of Families represents a lovely diverse mix of different types of families, reminding us that families come in all shapes and sizes, from single parent families to same sex couple parents, grandparents that live with us, extended families, blended families and many more. This book covers all of that as well as economic status, housing situations, transport options, even pets. The illustrations are colourful and funny and completely engage any child, or adult who's reading this. This is a great non-fiction book to introduce the topic of families, particularly during a PSED or PSHE session around families. It is up to date, with a diverse range of family types such as children who just live with their daddy or families where there are two mummies and shows families of mixed races and families with members with disabilities. The book also looks at other aspects of family life such as housing, pets, celebrations and work through the eyes of a child. This book feels genuinely inclusive, with no situation being labelled better or worse than any other.

Peace at Last by Jill Murphy [online versions with no text on screen or book with text, both from youtube.com] The author, Mary Hoffman, is the author of the well-reviewed _Amazing Grace_, _Boundless Grace, and _Princess Grace_. The Great Big Book of Families introduces children to the fact that not all families look the same. As we know, the publisher’s bottom line in making changes after publication is a monetary one. If a publisher knows that a particular book or series (or the company itself) will be boycotted over an issue, it’s more likely that changes will be made. (I believe that that’s what happened in the AMAZING GRACE series. And what happened when our review of MY HEART IS ON THE GROUND was published was amazing!)Erittäin hyvä ja monipuolinen kirja erilaisista perheistä ja asumisen malleista. Aiheet käydään läpi nopeasti, mutta kirja avaa myös paljon mahdollisuuksia keskustelulle. Meillä tämä kirja on ollut lainassa jo muutaman kuukauden, sillä se jaksaa kiinnostaa yhä uudelleen ja uudelleen. Jotkut yksityiskohdat ovat huvittaneet, jotkut mietityttäneet ja jotkut tuottaneet hyviä oivalluksia. Mary Hoffman is a bestselling British author and reviewer, born in 1945. She is a true enthusiast of Italy and spends a lot of her time there, which shows in her Stravaganza novels: a series currently in publication. In total, she has written over 80 books, including the aforementioned Stravaganza series and the bestselling picture book, Amazing Grace. Mary is also the editor of a review magazine Armadillo for kids.

This is a fresh, optimistic look through children's eyes at today's wide variety of family life: from homes, food, ways of celebrating, schools and holidays to getting around, jobs and housework, from extended families, languages and hobbies to pets and family trees. A big big book about families! From big families to small families. From moms and dads to just moms or dadxdad or grandparents taking care of the family. And we don't just see various families we also read about other things. Like making food. Houses. Adoption. Talking with your family. And more. It was really fun to read and I loved the diversity in this book. Many colours. Wheelchairs. Crutches. And more.

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Living in a white first world country with white heterosexual middle class parents, I often try to find ways to expose my children to different cultures, family structures and beliefs. During December we will be sharing the lesson plans published by Highland Council’s Equalities Improvement Group and LGBTI+ sub-group to support the development of Equality and Diversity across the curriculum. 18 picture books have been selected; for each picture book there have been lessons created for Early – Fourth Levels (Curriculum for Excellence) driven by the Literacy and English and Health and Wellbeing Experiences and Outcomes. Today’s Lesson: ‘The Great Big Book of Families’– Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith This list is made up of books featuring characters who are blind or visually impaired, as well as books which include characters with glasses and/or eye patches in a natural and positive way.Books here cover a range of ages, from little ones up to teenagers. Introduce It’s Okay to be Different. Read the 1st half of the book, up to ‘It’s okay to say no to bad things’. While reading, pause to discuss specific children’s experiences. From a mum and dad or single parent to two mums or two dads, from a mixed-race family to children with different mums and dads, to families with a disabled member.