Each spread of this book shows us children in a different family enjoying family life in a single community: a brother and sister play hide-and-seek; cousins enjoy “their ancestors’ music” (though who the ancestors are or where they came from is unspecified); children put on a show for Grandpa. A girl and her two dads read a book at the library. We are even told that “friends can be like family,” a nice acknowledgment of chosen family.
On one page, two children play under the supervision of two women neighbors “while Mommy and Daddy are away at work.” The position of the two neighbors makes me think they could be a couple, but it’s unclear. Another scene shows a woman in prison being visited by her son and Nonna. The text does not indicate where they are, but we see bars on the door and windows and a guard standing outside. The next spread shows the boy and Nonna giving the boy’s drawing and some fruit to another family who sit outside a building labeled “Family Health Center and Shelter”; it seems that this second family may be living at the shelter.
While there is no real throughline to the story, we see some of the same characters appearing throughout the book, as with the boy and his Nonna above. On the final page, all of the families gather at the park to play together.
A Discussion Guide at the end suggests questions like “What does the word family mean to you?” and “What are some of your favorite ways to play with family and friends?” One section here says, ‘A central theme in many cultures is the practice of respecting elders,
like parents and grandparents. For example, in China this tradition is called ‘filial piety.'” That may be true, but it feels odd to use that as a single example, especially when there are no families with obvious Chinese ancestry in the book. We are then awkwardly advised to “Discuss how playtime with adult family figures may differ from younger members of your family.”
While the book tries to show some aspects of inclusion that are not often covered (like a family with an incarcerated parent and one living at a shelter), the scenes feel so everyday as to verge on boring. (“Nearby, three kids play soccer. Their loved ones watch and cheer!
Look at them go!”) The families are predominantly White, although there are a few children and parents of color. Try Love Without Bounds: An IntersectionAllies Book About Families for a more engaging, diverse, and substantial book about the family diversity.
Also available in English.
