The Family Book
Author: Todd Parr
Summary: It seems as
if the definition of family is always changing, reflecting the times as well as
our culture and experiences. Winner of the 2004 Openheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award, The Family Book, by Todd Parr is a wonderful introduction for
readers and children alike to understand what a family really is and how many
interpretations and characteristics that encompass each of our own
families. Parr finds a way to simply
state all of the wonderful similarities and differences that we may see amongst
our neighbors and friends demonstrated in the first three pages: “Some families
are the same color. Some families are
different colors. All families like to
hug each other!” The Family Book is a wonderful way for children to be exposed to
all the possibilities of a family and to learn acceptance of those families who
may seem different than theirs.
Element 1: The Family Book is a great example of
Element One, one of self-love and knowledge, because it allows children to see
their family represented along with other representations of a family. Throughout the book the reader is presented
with many different types of families and what may be different from one family
may be familiar to another. This gives a
child the ability to see that his or her situation is “normal” and is
illustrated as a family in words and pictures, rather than questioning why they
are different from others.
Activity: Before any
activity, I would read this book aloud to my students. I would be sure to explain why this book is
so important for them to understand that a family can be defined in so many
ways so that they feel comfortable with the differences they may feel are
atypical. I would have them draw a
picture of their residence (a house, apartment, single family home, etc.) and
give them magazines, newspapers and books that they can cut from and create a
collage of how they want to represent their family. Afterwards, I would ask them to present their
collages to the class or group and explain their family, where do they live,
who lives with them and to explain the relationships with their family
members. In the end, I would hope that
my students recognize that although we all have different families, there will
always be similarities in the way we love and celebrate one another.
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