Families

by Susan Kuklin

Book Overview

In frank, funny, and touching interviews, children from fifteen different families talk about their home lives. They represent mixed-race and immigrant families; families of gay and lesbian couples;... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786808225
• ISBN13: 9780786808229
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
• Length: 36 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.8" x 10.1"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Rich in Diversity

Lovely pictures, believable and simply told stories of all kinds of familes: how they live and what they value.

Very Good book about Families

It is really good. It describes 15 different family situations that children might find themselves in. It includes everything from the traditional Christian family to one with 2 moms or 2 dads. What makes this book unique is that it is told from the point of view of the children in the family along with photographs. I thought this was a great way to explain what a family is. Recommended for ages 4-8 years.

respectful, appealing and interesting

Although Kuklin claims looks were unimportant in this interesting photo picture book on family diversity, somehow she ended up with attractive, appealing subjects children and adults will enjoy looking at. She set out to find a panoply of outgoing U.S. children with varied families willing to provide young readers either a window into their own lives or a mirror of the readers' identities through tiny glimpses of themselves as perceived and expressed by the children-- "Gutsy" families, notes Kuklin, in the March 2006 American Library Association Book Links magazine. Fifteen nurturing families representing a broad range of characteristics obliged. They are featured in fifteen attractive page spreads. Each has a group family picture, a cut-out shot of the children, an album photo, and text in the children's own words, omitting questions or prompts that must have elicited some of the comments. Kuklin let the children's personalities and decisions guide her collaborative project. The children, ages four to fourteen, not the adults, were interviewed for the text, revealed whatever they chose about their families, and directed the depiction of their family life, including poses, props, pets, and what everyone should wear in the photos. (Parents did consult on location for the photo shoots.) Additionally, because many of the children showed her their family albums during interviews, Kuklin had each family select one significant photo from their family's history which is included and described. She took several rolls of photographs for each shoot, had the families select their favorites, and relied on them also to oversee and correct transcriptions from the interviews, every draft, every word. It all works! Somehow, it's fascinating and inviting. Choosing an inclusive array of families troubled Kuklin: " Isn't it ironic that to do a book emphasizing inclusiveness, I needed to be somewhat exclusive? And in order to break down the notion of inaccurate stereotypes, I had to consider the race, religion, gender, and other features of the families. It was a most odd experience, one that went against my basic instincts and beliefs."(Book List) She did manage to achieve a rich, authentic mix. The families are mostly New York City people, but some are rural too. She interviews an only child, twins, children adopted from different countries and from the United States and their siblings, an adopted daughter of two dads, two children in a two-mom family, and a family with two daughters in the U.S. and one in their country of origin because the parents hadn't been able to arrange childcare while they worked. The families are of many races and ethnic backgrounds with parents from Japan, Korea, Germany, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Egypt, India, and the U.S. Some are extended families with relatives besides parents and children living together. Disabilities are not apparent except for one brother with Down syndrome. No one is menti

"Some people ask...about how we are different. I'd rather they ask how we're alike"

A welcome addition to the collection of books about different sorts of families, Kuklin's book is unique in that it contains the authentic voices of the children in the families. Families contains the stories of 16 families -- like all families, they are unique and unlike any other family and yet bound by the same universal emotions (love, humor, frustration) and activities (teasing, teasing, and teasing) that bind us together. Each family has a two-page spread with a large color photo and their special story. We meet Maisie, who lives part-time with her mom and part-time with her dad, and Ben, an only child who lives with his mom and dad. There are sisters Verona and Leona, whose older sister Melanie stayed in Trinidad when the parents moved to the US and Jehangir, who shares with his grandfather the dream that he will become the first Muslim President of the United States. The children's voices are funny and serious and loving. A warm portrait of today's family.