Book Review
A short overview of this book
Families: Celebrating diversity in families by Jayneen Sanders (Little Big Chats) is a lovely book for talking to young children about diversity in families. And there are so many kinds of families to celebrate!
This book belongs to the Little BIG Chats series, which consists of 12 books that have been written to help parents to start talking about important topics. There’s a discussion guide at the back, with some pages of the book including helpful questions to ask your child as you read.
I really like this approach of a topic a book, and they would be a fantastic collection of books to have. It would be very easy to read a different one of these each night with your children.
There are 12 books in the Little BIG Chats series:
The Body Safety titles should ideally be read in the following order: Consent, My Safety Network, My Early Warning Signs, Private Parts are Private, and Secrets and Surprises. The remaining titles can be read in any order.
You can learn more on this page, about how to talk to kids about sex education.
Ideal Age
Ideal for children aged 2 to 6 years.
Buy this book
✅ Buy a copy of Families by Jayneen Sanders (Little Big Chats) from Amazon.
Video Transcription
A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener
Hey there! Welcome to Sex Ed Rescue with Cath Hakanson. I’m here to help parents have better conversations about love, sex, relationships, and growing up. Today, I want to talk about a fantastic book for young children called Families: Celebrating Diversity and Families from the Little Big Chat series by Janine Sanders.
Now, these books are brand new, so bear with me as I struggle to turn the pages. Library books are usually easier to review because they’ve been well thumbed. But hey, let’s dive in!
The book starts off with Artie, who’s going to share stories about different kinds of families. And let me tell you, the illustrations in this book are adorable! It’s a doll’s house that just makes you smile.
The book emphasizes that every family is unique. Your family might be different from mine, and that’s totally okay. It’s all about celebrating diversity! Some families have two or three people, while others have big parties or smaller gatherings. Families do different things, and that’s what makes them special.
For example, there’s a child with two mothers and a cat named Candy. Then there’s Marcia, who has a mother, father, and five big brothers. Another child lives with their grandma and three little sisters. And there’s even a family that lives on a sheep farm with two dads. How cool is that?
The book also mentions a child who lives in an apartment with their mom, and another who lives with their dad and stepmother, sometimes even with their other family. The point is, all families are different, and that’s what makes them special.
At the end of the book, there are discussion questions that can help you expand the conversation with your child. It’s a great way to keep the dialogue going.
So, this book is a lovely introduction for kids to the idea that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that diversity is totally okay. Just because your family is different doesn’t mean it’s any less of a family. Remember, every family is special in its own way.
Alright, that’s it for today. Cheers!
