Fifty real kids and their parents/guardians, from each state in the United States, spoke with authors Matt Lamothe and Jenny Volvovski for this fascinating and important volume. Lamothe and Volvovski used more than 100 hours of video interviews with the families to create one-page profiles of each featured child, showcasing their family lives, interests, and aspirations. Half of each page is a text description of the child and family; half is an illustration of them in warm, muted colors.
Lamothe and Volvovski explain in an Authors’ Note that they wanted “to create an authentic portrait of the country, showcasing the diversity of its people and the vastness of its natural landscapes.” They sought for participating families to reflect the country as a whole in their demographics and for their experiences to show “the unique potential of the next generation,” while not avoiding the “adversities and hardships” that some families face.
The children and their families are diverse in many aspects of identity and experience. The families have a wide range of racial/ethnic identities and religions (and degree of religious practice). They have been formed in varied ways, including by fostering and adoption. We also see divorced parents, stepparents, solo parents, and/or grandparents involved in raising the children. There are both kids and parents with disabilities. There are families who have struggled financially or faced tragedies of various types. There are families living in rural, suburban, and urban areas.
And yes, there are queer families and children here, including 6-year-old Charlotte “Charlie,” who lives with her dads Kevin and Shawndae in Wyoming; 9-year-old Natalie, who lives with her mama Laura, mommy Kim, and two younger siblings in Maryland; and 11-year-old Vicente, who is nonbinary and lives with their mom in Colorado. It is gratifying to see queer families woven unremarkably into this portrait of America, even if we unfortunately don’t get to see a wider range of LGBTQ identities.
Backmatter includes photos of the children profiled; more about the extensive process Lamothe and Volvovski used to get to know the families; graphs comparing overall U.S. demographics with those of the families in the book (which are close, with some differences); and a short bibliography.
There is a richness of experience here that is insightful and inspiring. Even if not every identity and experience is portrayed, the range of the ones that are should offer a jumping-off point for further discussion about what’s missing (like transgender parents). Young readers should enjoy finding both the similarities and differences they have with the children here, making this a highly recommended volume.
