Reviewed by: Ryan LaLonde
About the author:
Todd Parr lives near San Francisco but grew up in Wyoming. He likes to paint, but failed art class. Now he creates books for kids and has a TV show called ToddWorld. His books talk about love, kindness and are sometimes silly. He loves the fog, the sea lions, dolphins and macaroni and cheese. He also loves his dog Bully.
About the book:
There are so many different types of families, and THE FAMILY BOOK celebrates them all in a funny, silly, and reassuring way. Parr includes adopted families, step-families, one-parent families, and families with two parents of the same sex, as well as the traditional nuclear family. His quirky humor and bright, childlike illustrations will make children feel good about their families. Parents and teachers can use this book to encourage children to talk about their families and the different kinds of families that exist.
My take on the book:
As we gather for the Thanksgiving Holiday, there is usually only one reason that we look forward to the holiday – Family. Whether they are the family that were we born or adopted into ever since we can remember or the family we have created for ourselves, it is ‘family” that makes the holiday.
What better book to read for the holiday than Todd Parr’s “The Family Book”. His simple book celebrates every possible combination of family with colorful joy and playful depictions.
This book is a favorite for our family. There are only a handful of books that happily show families like ours. Two dads (one white and one black) with a son of both races – and this book offers it for us. It shows single dads, large families, fishy families and families full of hugs.
Not only does Parr show many different families but what makes them so special whether they are near or far from you. Parr points out that some families look like their pets, while others are quiet and respectively noisy (my family would be in the noisy category).
Parr has a history of all-inclusive diversity in his artfully drawn books. I like to describe his illustration as a cross between Keith Haring and an exceptional 7-year old artist. His poignant depictions also showcase families dealing with a loss, blended families, adopted children and even families that share their home with other families.
“The Family Book” is an homage to families everywhere. Parr’s closing page sums it up best….“There are lots of different ways to be a family. Your family is special no matter what kind it is.” There is no better book to celebrate Thanksgiving. Our family is thankful for Todd Parr.
Looks great! It is so good to know that someone is writing inclusive books for all children to grow up with. Thank you for the heads up and review.
Thanks Kimberly! Todd Parr is one of our favorites here on Book Dads because of the message of being inclusive!
What a fantastic message! It's so nice that more and more there are books like this being published and I don't doubt that in the future there will be even more, which would be wonderful.
I love the holidays for this very reason, family. I was just commenting over at Happy Birthday Author's blog that that's what I love about having my birthday right around Thanksgiving, because I always get to share it with family. It's wonderful. And the larger our family grows because of extended family getting married and/or having kids it just goes to show that no one has a "standard" family. Anymore I think it would be difficult to find a "typical/standard" family, so I'm glad to see a book that promotes that and the importance of being together no matter who we are or what kind of family we have.
Todd Parr's are fantastic and my daughter loves looking at the pictures with all the really bright colors. He's one of our favorites!