Who's in a Family?
by Robert Skutch
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert SkutchIllustrator: Laura Nienhaus
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-02-01
ISBN: 188367266X
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Tricycle Press
Book Reviews of Who's in a Family?
Book Review: Ah, controversy.
Summary: 4 Stars
Robert Skutch, Who's in a Family? (Tricycle, 1997)
This book has recently been getting loads of column inches thanks to a Massachusetts moron named David Parker, who was arrested in April 2005 after a confrontation with school officials after his son received the book as part of a "diversity bag" of readers handed out to kindergarten students at the school. Interestingly, most news reports (perhaps following on Parker's never-quoted comments) focus on four pages of the thirty-two page book that depict same-sex couple raising children as legitimate iterations of the family. (So-called "conservative" harpy Michelle Malkin, in her blog, has a far more entertaining criticism of the whole thing, also mentioning "intergenerational [and] mixed-race" couples in her criticism.) Everyone seems to have glossed over Skutch's dedication to a lesbian couple raising a child, which, I'd have thought, would have been the first thing the religious wingnuts seized upon.
All that said, the relevant question here is "how's the book?" Now, it seems pretty obvious to me that whether you like it or not, and whether you want your kid to read it, is going to stem solely from your religious views. And honestly, if your religious views lead you want to "protect" your child from the idea that "family" can mean anything other than one man, one woman, and x number of children (with, of course, the "family" being "better" where x is larger), then I'd have to suggest that you need to find yourself a new religion. Who's in a Family? is an excellent way to introduce children to the idea that there can be different kinds of families, and that any given family configuration is not destined to collapse simply because of its existence (as most of the major western religions would have us believe).
If you have preschoolers, I cannot urge you strongly enough to have them read it, or read it to them. ****
Summary of Who's in a Family?
Family is important, but who's in a family? Why, the people who love you the most!This equal opportunity, open-minded picture book has no preconceptions about what makes a family a family. There's even equal time given to some of children's favorite animal families. With warm and inviting jewel-tone illustrations, this is a great book for that long talk with a little person on your lap.Family Life Books
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