The Great Big Book of Families

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Update (2): Celeste submitted a comment that I'm inserting here because it may explain the differences we're seeing. Celeste wrote " The difference in language might be a British/American edition thing. British English uses "fancy dress party" where American English uses "Costume party." Inexcusable either way." During December we will be sharing the lesson plans published by Highland Council’s Equalities Improvement Group and LGBTI+ sub-group to support the development of Equality and Diversity across the curriculum. 18 picture books have been selected; for each picture book there have been lessons created for Early – Fourth Levels (Curriculum for Excellence) driven by the Literacy and English and Health and Wellbeing Experiences and Outcomes. Today’s Lesson: ‘The Great Big Book of Families’– Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith The Great Big Book of Families’ is a brilliant text which can be used to support practitioners in exploring family diversity and celebrating that families are all different. A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

This list comprises books which include disabled characters within their images and/or story naturally, subtly and often without comment.From a mum and dad or single parent to two mums or two dads, from a mixed-race family to children with different mums and dads, to families with a disabled member.

The Great Big Book of Families represents a lovely diverse mix of different types of families, reminding us that families come in all shapes and sizes, from single parent families to same sex couple parents, grandparents that live with us, extended families, blended families and many more. A challenging experience can make a young child feel as if they are in emotional free fall. As a parent, you can’t stop them falling, but you can offer them a softer landing: The problems in that choice are many. First, it is a stereotypical illustration. Second, even if it were accurate, it ought not be shown as an option in an array of dress-up costumes. This is a great non-fiction book to introduce the topic of families, particularly during a PSED or PSHE session around families. It is up to date, with a diverse range of family types such as children who just live with their daddy or families where there are two mummies and shows families of mixed races and families with members with disabilities. The book also looks at other aspects of family life such as housing, pets, celebrations and work through the eyes of a child. This book feels genuinely inclusive, with no situation being labelled better or worse than any other. The Great Big Book of Families introduces children to the fact that not all families look the same.Living in a white first world country with white heterosexual middle class parents, I often try to find ways to expose my children to different cultures, family structures and beliefs. What is a family? Once, it was said to be a father, mother, boy, girl, cat and dog living in a house with a garden. But as times have changed, families have changed too, and now there are almost as many kinds of families as colours of the rainbow. A big big book about families! From big families to small families. From moms and dads to just moms or dadxdad or grandparents taking care of the family. And we don't just see various families we also read about other things. Like making food. Houses. Adoption. Talking with your family. And more. It was really fun to read and I loved the diversity in this book. Many colours. Wheelchairs. Crutches. And more. The author, Mary Hoffman, is the author of the well-reviewed _Amazing Grace_, _Boundless Grace, and _Princess Grace_. Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”

Introduce It’s Okay to be Different. Read the 1st half of the book, up to ‘It’s okay to say no to bad things’. While reading, pause to discuss specific children’s experiences. Miss 3 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.Erittäin hyvä ja monipuolinen kirja erilaisista perheistä ja asumisen malleista. Aiheet käydään läpi nopeasti, mutta kirja avaa myös paljon mahdollisuuksia keskustelulle. Meillä tämä kirja on ollut lainassa jo muutaman kuukauden, sillä se jaksaa kiinnostaa yhä uudelleen ja uudelleen. Jotkut yksityiskohdat ovat huvittaneet, jotkut mietityttäneet ja jotkut tuottaneet hyviä oivalluksia. The difference in language might be a British/American edition thing. British English uses "fancy dress party" where American English uses "Costume party." Inexcusable either way.

This clever book is taking a truly 21st Century look at family life... In spite of managing to reflect the reality of life for all families, the book refrains from making value judgements. No family is depicted as better or worse than any other – just different." The myriad of families depicted is the so called traditional heterosexual parents, gay and lesbian parents, single parents, families with one, many, or no children, blended families, multi-ethnical families, multi-race families, multi-generational families, adopted families, large families, and small families. It goes on to tell where some families live and how they live. The book ends with the question of questioning the reader about their family. As we know, the publisher’s bottom line in making changes after publication is a monetary one. If a publisher knows that a particular book or series (or the company itself) will be boycotted over an issue, it’s more likely that changes will be made. (I believe that that’s what happened in the AMAZING GRACE series. And what happened when our review of MY HEART IS ON THE GROUND was published was amazing!) Lucy is a clever little cat who knows how to do everything. She can eat with a spoon and fork, play the xylophone, even fold fabulous paper stars. In fact, all her friends ask her for help if they cannot do something. When Toshi the panda arrives from far away, Lucy doesn't understand why he does everything differently. She becomes increasingly frustrated wh…

Websites with Reviews of Books

This list is made up of books featuring characters who are blind or visually impaired, as well as books which include characters with glasses and/or eye patches in a natural and positive way.Books here cover a range of ages, from little ones up to teenagers.