Customer Reviews

All Families Are Special

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
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This book is prefect for an early childhood classroom family unit. The basis of the story is a teacher asking the class about their families. Each page is dedicated to one of the children's responses and many different family situations are included. Two important ones its missing are single mom with no dad in the picture and gay dads. It does however have a single dad where the mom died and lesbian moms. Its a great discussion starter and jumping off point.

I enjoyed this book and like the illustrations by Teresa Flavin's families. This is a book that show ALL kinds of families, and this is a book that the parent should review to see if it works with your family.

The book starts out in a classroom with the teacher announcing she's going to be a grandma. "Everyone is part of a family, would you like to talk about your families?" Families are made all sorts of ways, by adoption, having your grandparents live with you, single parents, two mommies, going to live at your grandparents home, family members how live in other countries, families include your pets, cousins, aunts, uncles and step-parents.

I think the author Morma Simon said it best on the "About this book page": Here's what she said:

" We remain linked to our families and to our family memories, throughout our lives. That's because of the powerful bonds formed in family life.

Kinship plays a significant role in shaping the personality and self-image of every child in a family. The strenghts children develop and successes they experience within their families shape the strenghts and expectations of success they carry with them as they grow up and move out into the world. The family environment influences how children thrive and mature; eventually it influences their ability to form happy families of their own.

We know that nobody lives a perfect life. Family life includes times of tension and hardship as well as times of great joy. It is up to adult family members to create a climate of love, security and optimism that will help children weather stormy times and find life's most positive values and experience.

The typical family picture of fifty years ago has undergone many changes. Today's children live in two-parent families, single-parent families, adoptive families, foster families, divorced families, and blended families. This books invites children to describe their own family group, and through thee discussions, to realize and appreciate all the ways their families are special, very special.

The artwork is decent, the various forms of families mentioned are diverse considering other options I've seen and/or bought, but some pretty major issues! Instead of taking this opportunity to teach kids about language choice, the terms "real" and "not real" are used to describe stand in parents. Really? And while the author addresses just about every possible type of family combination,there is no family formed through adoption, foster children, etc. Pretty unbelievable to me!

arrived on time in mint condition. perfect for the family unit at school for preschoolers.