I found the art and story of "King & King & Family" to be more exuberant than the first, "King & King" -- the little girl bursting out of the chest at the end is so full of life. It actually is by far my favorite of the "gay family / how we adopted our child" books. ( )

This was a cute addition to the initial story, but some of the joy seems to have gone out of it. The whimsy is a little forced, and the art lacks the chaotic force of the first book ( )

King and King and Family continues the story of a crown prince seeking a family, as he and his newlywed king venture into the jungle on their honeymoon and recognize the child-shaped hole in their lives. As before, Nijland and de Haan provide an overly simple story and characters, whose motivations are easy for young readers to recognize. They address non-alternative family structures with respect but without kid gloves: by refusing to address the union of King Bernie and King Lee (yes, they get names in the second book) as anything unusual, they model a healthy acceptance of diversity for young readers. They continue their highly colorful and stylistically diverse illustration, providing vivid and sometimes humorous backgrounds for their characters’ adventures. Like the King and King, King and King and Family is highly recommended for picture book collections in any public library or school library (thought it might be better fit for a particularly liberal school district). ( )

Another good King & King book, but still lacking a decent plot. The artwork is still nice, but not as intricate as the original. However, given the scarce amount of books advocating "kings marrying kings", this is a welcome change from the standard fare of a prince saving a princess. ( )