Less you get tired of me saying how much I love my library, I’ll cut to the chase. Well, one story at least. I’ve taught Sophia that libraries are a great resource to learn about whatever she wants. Now, Jaxson is learning that he can ask the librarian to find books on any subject he likes. It’s so cute!
Ok, back to my recent discovery from our library’s children’s section. As soon as I spotted The Great Big Book of Families by Mary Hoffman, I knew we had to take it home. Mary Hoffman’s books are well loved by my princess loving daughter. In fact, Princess Grace was one of the first book we read together that touched on non-traditional princesses. As in the dark skinned, dark hair kind.
Reading The Great Big Book of Families reminded me of Richard Scarry books. In addition to the words on the page, the illustrations tell many different stories too. Every time I read the book the kids, I see something new in the drawings.
At first I was drawn to the illustrations on the cover. Families of all skin colors and combinations of skin colors graced its cover. The Great Big Book of Families was more comprehensive than I thought it would be. The first spread, as expected, was about families: single parents, grandparents raising their grandkids, families with two moms or dads and families with adopted children.
The pages about Jobs featured a family work situation both Sophia and I could identify with: working from home.
We had a good giggle about how her brother gets into my things in my “office” aka our breakfast nook. This book isn’t about being politically correct. It’s about showing the real world. The jobs page also mentions families who could not find jobs.
I recommend that every family (or teacher) read The Great Big Book of Families with their kids. It’s a fun way to start a conversation about differences among families. The book covers the different types of homes families live in, different clothes they wear, even different types of schooling. It was great to see homeschooling mentioned because of Sophia’s good friends is home schooled.
Sophia and I have plenty of conversations about each person (and family) is unique and we should be proud of our differences. Now that she’s in school, other kids often ask her, “THAT’s your mom?” or “You don’t look like your mom/dad.” Because my husband and I started the conversation about our differences when Sophia was young, she’s very confident and proud of who she is.
Get the book and share it with others. We need to teach kids (and adults) it’s ok to notice others’ differences. It’s ok to talk about them. If we make it taboo to talk about race, jobs (or lack of work), religion, etc, then they will believe something is wrong with a that different point of view.
It’s also fun to read. There’s some pretty fun and silly illustrations hidden throughout the book.