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A Family Is a Family Is a Family Hardcover – Picture Book, September 1, 2016
| Sara O'Leary (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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When a teacher asks her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different, but the same in one important way ...
When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways ― but the same in the one way that matters most of all.
One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One has many stepsiblings, and another has a new baby in the family.
As her classmates describe who they live with and who loves them ― family of every shape, size and every kind of relation ― the child realizes that as long as her family is full of caring people, it is special.
A warm and whimsical look at many types of families, written by award-winning author Sara O’Leary, with quirky and sweet illustrations by Qin Leng.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9
Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
- Reading age4 - 7 years
- Print length32 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade levelKindergarten - 2
- Lexile measureAD500L
- Dimensions8.5 x 0.4 x 9.5 inches
- PublisherGroundwood Books
- Publication dateSeptember 1, 2016
- ISBN-101554987946
- ISBN-13978-1554987948
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Review
Leng's drawings of domestic life are, like O'Leary's writing, winsome but never sentimental. Together they offer a straightforward, optimistic view of everyday modern life. ― Publishers Weekly, starred review
A sweet and tender tale that shows that families are composed of love regardless of how they may be configured. ― School Library Journal, starred review
[R]aucous and relatable.
― LitHubAbout the Author
SARA O'LEARY is a writer of fiction for both adults and children. Her highly acclaimed picture books include Percy’s Museum, illustrated by Carmen Mok; Night Walk, illustrated by Ellie Arscott; A Family Is a Family Is a Family, illustrated by Qin Leng (USBBY Outstanding International Books); and Maud and Grand-Maud, illustrated by Kenard Pak. She has also written This Is Sadie (adapted for the stage for New York City Children’s Theater) and the award-winning series of Henry books, all illustrated by Julie Morstad. Sara writes for children’s animation and teaches at Concordia University in Montreal.
QIN LENG lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and artwork. Her picture books include Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki (APALA Award, Governor General’s Literary Award finalist); Away by Emil Sher and A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O’Leary (both USBBY Outstanding International Books); When I Found Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award finalist) and I Am Small, which Qin has written and illustrated.
Product details
- Publisher : Groundwood Books (September 1, 2016)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 32 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1554987946
- ISBN-13 : 978-1554987948
- Reading age : 4 - 7 years
- Lexile measure : AD500L
- Grade level : Kindergarten - 2
- Item Weight : 15 ounces
- Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.4 x 9.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #28,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Sara O'Leary (saraoleary.ca) is a writer for both children and adults. The Ghost in the House is her first novel. She has a degree in screenwriting from the University of British Columbia and teaches at Concordia University in Montreal. A former literary columnist for The Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio, she also writes short fiction. She has written a number of critically acclaimed books for children, including This is Sadie, which was adapted for the stage by New York City Children's Theater.
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But the real reason I love this book is because when it's the narrator's turn at last, he recounts a time at a park when a stranger asked his foster mom which were her real children. Her absolutely perfect response: "Oh, all of them. I don't have any imaginary children." As a foster and adoptive parent myself, I LOVE this. This is the response that I wish I had thought of in time!
All families should read a few "all kinds of families" books with their children, because all children will encounter lots of different families. This is a particularly good one for opening the eyes of many well-meaning adults as well!
The best part is that none of the families are presented in a preachy way that points out why they might be “different.” For example, the child with two moms says, “My moms love to sing” and there is no discussion of why there are two moms, no suggestion that it’s unusual, and no indication that anyone has a problem with it. (There is one page where the child says their mom gets asked which of her kids are her REAL kids, and the mom replies that she has no pretend children, but that’s the only one where the family’s uniqueness is even pointed out.)
When I read this book to my class, I first had them draw a picture of a family. As we read, we noted whether any of them drew families like the ones in the book. It surprised me that they literally had no idea that a grandparent and grandchild can be a family. It really broadened their schema and helped generate a discussion of all the many ways to be a family.
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Die Illustration spricht mich nicht an, deshalb nur vier Sterne








