Customer Reviews

All Kinds of Families

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this book to be a real disappointment. While the words "all kinds of families" seem to open up a world of possibilities, the pictures tell a different story. Yes, the families may be black or white, old or young, married or divorced, or even include someone who is in jail. HOWEVER - the pictures almost always show an adult male and an adult female. As a single mother of two children, both of whom came to me through donor insemmination, I do not feel that this book sends an inclusive message to families that do not include a father figure.

I teach in a school where students literally come from All Kinds of Families. Some of my students are adopted, some live with their grandparents, and many of them (including myself)come from single family homes. If any of us remember what it was like to be in elementary school, you know that children tend to believe that their problems or differences are unique. This book helps students understand that many people share their circumstances. This book is an excellent bridge for discussions, and to create our own books about the people who care for us!

This read aloud book talks about many living & family situations. 2 themes of the book are "a family is people who belong together" and families share a history & a future. Excellent for children who are uncertain about their own unique life styles.

I use this book all the time in my preschool classroom. It does an excellent job of presenting traditional and non-traditional families in a positive light. My students love it, and that's the best recommendation I can give.

The title in no way comes close to describing different families. If your a male and a female with a house that seems to be the "typical family" this book refers to . There is no hint of diversity.

However dated,this book does cover a few diverse and more common familial situations like single-parent, inter-racial, adopted family members, extended families, and grandparents as the custodial parents. However I was displeased with the the lack of discussion about children of divorce with half-siblings and step-parents, which was what I was looking for in particular. The book is well-written with elaborate illustrations, however dim the color pallette. The book as a whole is best suited for children over Four years.

We have a home preschool and this book was on the list of recommended reads for kids during our family unit. After reading it I was very surprised to see the "lower" rating given here, but upon closer inspection have realized most low ratings are based more on people's disappointment that it does not include homosexuality as part of the diversity presented. (Keeping in mind that this book was written in the 70's, it must have been pretty progressive when it came out.) However, this was intended for young children and I personally am relieved and searched intentionally for a book that did not include homosexuality because I felt that was a little too much too soon for our 4-year-olds. This book sets out to present in a positive light all different kinds of family groupings and situations and does that very successfully. Three cheers for Norma Simon!

Thinking back to my childhood, this was probably cutting-edge in 1976. Kudos to the author and illustrator for that, but it isn't what I would read to my daughter now, since her family headed by two moms is glaringly absent.