Families (Talk-about-Books)

Families is a wonderful addition to any daycare or home library.... The text by Debbie Bailey is simple but not artificial and deals with things familiar to most young children, such as trips to the park, ice cream, and getting ready for bed. Colour photos by Susan Huszar are attractively framed in strong borders and feature real people in every day situations. There are no models or stiff artificial poses in this collection, which makes it all the more endearing. It is also ethnically diverse without looking like it tried too hard. I liked the lack of traditional stereotypes in this book. Grandmas, for example, do quilt, but they also hammer while grandpas can be in wheelchairs, or they can toboggan, ride motorcycles and work.... The stories...effectively explore what makes up a family without being dogmatic about it. My two-and-a-half year old was quite taken with it, too. Highly recommended. (Liz Greenaway Canadian Materials 1999-12-10)