From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3. The pictures on the front cover of this attractive book preview the variety to be found within, while the informal arrangement of shoes and outerwear on the title page and back cover hint at Hausherr's comfortable, matter-of-fact presentation. Fourteen children from various ethnic groups invite young readers to meet their families. The left-hand side of the double-page spread devoted to each family bears the child's signature and a group portrait, most often in color. The text and accompanying black-and-white photos on the right describe the living arrangement and show family members working and enjoying good times together. Hausherr writes about single-parent, two-parent, multigenerational, and interracial families. But there are also children who live with foster families, children who live in shelters and communes, a child whose mother is in a wheelchair, and one who visits his father in prison. The text is unsentimental and honest: "Chris knows that his father is in prison because he made a big mistake." The author also says a great deal in the way she composes her photographs: the portrait of the family whose father is in prison is in two separate snapshots, with the father's in black and white; the little girl who lives in a shelter is wistful and unsmiling. A glossary and a four-generational family tree are appended. This is a valuable classroom resource as well as an opportunity for children living in many different family constellations to see and feel good about themselves.?Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Ages 4^-7. This attractive and appealing photo-essay features a broad representational mix of families. Each left-hand page shows a color photo of a young child with some kind of picture of his or her family. Justin wears a T-shirt silk-screened with an image of his Papa; Isaac holds photos of his Colombian foster family in one hand and a drawing of his "real mom" in the other. The facing pages display naturalistic black-and-white prints of each family engaged in common, everyday activities (shopping, gardening, etc.) The bare-bones text highlights the likes and dislikes of each of the 18 subjects, but curious preschoolers may be left with some questions: Why can't Kimberly's mom walk? or Why does Alexandra have two mommies? The tone is matter-of-fact, and the emphasis on love and commitment cuts across race, ethnicity, class, and gender. A welcome book. Julie Corsaro
