All Kinds of Families!
Mary Ann Hoberman (author) & Marc Boutavant (illustrator)
(Little, Brown Young Readers)
This is a real hit with my kids. They love the rhyming text and already know some of it (including the recurring quote above) by heart.I have to say I had never heard of Hoberman until this book came out, but she seems to be quite a prolific writer, maybe better known in the United States.
Personally I think some of the text is a bit clumsy, but the message of the book is great: whether it is bread slices, buttons, tools or fingers. It explains really simply how the concept of families is, which is great for young children. Here is a great example:
If you are the first baby born to your mother
Your mother’s a mother because you are here
If you are the first baby born to your father
Your father is a father because you appear
If you are the second one born in your family
Someone is a brother because you arrive
Or Someone’s a sister, and you are a sister
Or brother the moment that you are alive
And as for the illustrations, well, what can I say? Only Marc Boutavant came make illustrations which are nearly all bright pink look good, and cool:
