Ros Asquith

“The Great Big Book of Families” is an awesome kindergarten to 2nd grade picture book about diversity! This book talks about how families could be different in many, many ways. I really liked this book because of how many diversity topics it covered; it covered how families could be different in structure, dynamic, education, social class, living situations, holidays, religion, race, work, pets, extended families, cultures…about all the diversity topics you can think of in an easy to show more ready, very approachable children’s book. This book represents all types of families, and will no doubt represent the majority of kids in the classroom, especially for students who have different family structures. For example, I did not grow up with my father, and eventually my mother remarried and I had a step-family. It was always hard explaining this to my friends in elementary school, and it was sometimes hard to have a family that did not look like everyone else’s family. That is why I think this book could have a great impact on readers as young as kindergarten; this book exposes children to all types of diversity, but with very easy language and entertaining artwork. The sentences are very short on each page with easy vocabulary, making this comprehendible for beginning readers. The central message of this story is that all families look different in some way, but all are just as good! show less

I loved this book because it showed so many different kinds of family, which is something not very common among media. Typically, families in movies are white, straight couples with a son and a daughter. However, this book showed many different types of sexualities, races, socioeconomic levels, religions, and cultures. The language used in this book is very positive towards all types of families which is a very positive and important thing. It stresses that all types of families are equally show more valuable, no matter how different they may seem. I also like the illustrations, which include all the families. There is a lot of color and creativity involved to keep the reader engaged. The big idea of this story is that no matter what you look like, if you love each other, you are a family. No one else can dictate what your family looks like. show less

Okay, this book is adorable. I love seeing all of the diversity in it, and the fact that all families, no matter who they're made up of, do a lot of the same things and have a lot of the same feelings. Awesome celebration of all types of families!

I really like that author Mary Hoffman represents many different types of families. I think it is so important for children to learn from a young age that diversity is important, and there isn't just one kind of "perfect family." With that being said, I think Hoffman shifts her focus onto other topics that might be best written about on their own. For example, there is a line that says "and some families can't get jobs at all," which is illustrated by a very unhappy looking family. I think show more this is counterproductive to this particular book as the whole point is to celebrate differences in family structure, not point out unhappy circumstances. show less