Book review: The Family Book

Another book review today – this one of The Family Book, by Todd Parr. This is one of my all-around favorite kids books in general, not just for adoption, and I highly recommend you get it…but read my review first!

Todd Parr rocks! We love, love, love Todd Parr in our house! We have The Family Book, The Mommy Book, and The Daddy Book, and we’ve checked all the rest out of the library. These are simple books, but they are simple genius. Here’s the basic philosphy of his books:

We’re all a little bit different and we’re all a little bit the same. That’s what’s cool about the world.

Now, if you don’t believe that and you don’t want your kids learning about differences like, for example, multiracial families or families with two mommies, you aren’t going to like these books. But for me, that’s what is best about them. Family situations that aren’t treated as “normal” in most children’s books or televisions shows are completely normalized in Todd Parr’s books.

Let’s take The Family Book. Here’s a bit from the book:

Some families look alike.
Some families look like their pets.
All families are sad when they lose someone they love.

All true, right?

Now this:

Some families have a stepmom or stepdad and stepsisters or stepbrothers.
Some families adopt children.
Some families have two moms or two dads.
Some families have one parent instead of two.
All families like to celebrate special days together!

Again, all true. He’s not saying you have to like it, or you have to do it yourself, or even that it’s a good or bad choice – but it’s true. And that’s the beauty of these books. Facts=truth=normalization.

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