PreK – K: Differences in Families

This theme focuses on diversity within and among families. I have included books that showcase various ethnicities, same-sex parents, and adoption, in addition to a couple of silly books.

Please click here to see how I select books for my lists.

• The Family Book by Todd Parr
  This very colorful book uses child-like drawings and short phrases to illustrate the similarity and difference between family members and between family groups.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: Illustrates diversity and includes single parents, same-sex parents, adoption, and step-parents/-children.

• Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy
  In this book, a little girl tells about her grandmother who is a witch. The girl tries to get the grandmother to look and act more like other grandmothers, but then realizes that she liked her the way she was.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: Accepting differences in others

• Ten days and nine nights by Yumi Heo
  This book counts down the days as a Korean-American family prepares to welcome home the baby they are adopting from Korea.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: International travel, older sibling preparing for a new baby
  MATH: Counting down from 10

• A Tale of Two Mommies by Vanita Oelschlager
  This book is set up as a series of questions that a couple of friends ask a little boy about which of his moms does what. The illustrations are drawn from the kids’ perspective, so you only see the hands and legs of the adults helping the boy.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: Same-sex parents, multi-cultural (the moms and the one friend appear white, the son appears to be African-American, and the one friend appears Asian)

• Black is brown is tan by Arnold Adoff
  This book shows the everyday life of a family with a white dad and an African-American mom and their biracial children. It is written in a poetic style with all lower-case letters and no punctuation.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: Racially diverse families

• Who’s In My Family by Robie H. Harris
  This book follows a family through a whole day from the time they get up in the morning to go to the zoo until they go to bed. It discusses many aspects of family life in which families are similar and different, including where they live, what they eat, and who is part of a family. The illustrations include families from various cultures.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: Diverse cultures, diverse family structures, diverse foods, community

• All Kinds of Families! by Mary Ann Hoberman
  A fun rhyming book about human families, animal families, and families made out of groups of things found in nature, on shelves, and in the refrigerator.
  SOCIAL STUDIES: Family relationships and family history
  MATH: Grouping and sorting items
  SCIENCE: Things found in nature