A Family is a Family is a Family
Illustrator
Qin Leng
Publisher
Groundwood Books
Publication Year
2016
ISBN
9781554987948
Pages
32 pages
Genre
realism
Format
picture book
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
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 is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby.
Grade Level
K-3
Lexile Measure
AD500L
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; Racial Diversity; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Disability and Health; Adoption; Foster care; Divorce; Single parent; Step parent; Kinship care; Biracial; Interracial; Gay/Lesbian; Physical disability; adopted child; foster family; foster child; divorced parents; single mother; single father; step siblings; grandmother raising grandchild; multiple races; interracial family; biracial child; gay; gay parents; gay fathers; lesbian; lesbian parents; lesbian mothers; wheelchair user; mother uses a wheelchair
Main Character
multiple
Race/Ethnicities
multiple
Family Formation
multiple
LGBTQ+
gay male; lesbian female
Awards
Mitten Award, 2017, Short List
Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, 2017, Short List, Children's Picture Book
Best Bets: Recommended Canadian Reads for Children, 2016 Picture Book
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2017 Ages 5 to 9
Best of the Best Books, 2016 Picture Book
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens, 2017 Ages 0-7
First and Best, 2016
Kirkus Book Review Stars, 2016
Rainbow List, 2018 Picture Book
USBBY Outstanding International Books, 2017 Pre-K - Grade 2
Keywords
different kinds of families; unique families; elementary school; class assignment; love
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
O'Leary, Sara, "A Family is a Family is a Family" (2016). Diverse Families. 10.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/10