Book Review
A short overview of this book
Just The Way We Are by Jessica Shirvington is a great book for talking to kids about diversity in families. There is a wide range of different families in this book.
This is an important topic, as it helps young children to understand that all families are different. Normalising this diversity is important, especially if your child belongs to a family that is different from everyone else.
You can learn more on this page, about how to talk to kids about sex education.
Ideal Age
Ideal for children aged 3 to 6 years.
Buy this book
✅ Buy a copy of Just The Way We Are by Jessica Shirvington from Amazon.
Video Transcription
A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener
Hey there! I’m Cath Hak, and welcome to Sex Ed Rescue, my YouTube channel where I help parents find a better way to talk to their kids about love, sex, relationships, and all that good stuff. You’ll find lots of book reviews and the occasional video where I dive into sex education topics. But the real treasure trove of information is on my website. Oh, and please ignore my dog in the background. Hopefully, she’ll stay quiet.
So today, I want to talk about a fantastic book called Just the Way We Are by Jessica Shirvington and Claire Robertson. It’s a book that celebrates the diversity of families and how unique each one can be. I believe that when kids grow up understanding that being different is totally cool, they become more accepting and understanding of others. And that includes being more accepting and understanding of their own families.
Let me give you an example. I have a friend who’s a foster mom. She’s taken care of about 20 different children, and right now she has five foster kids. Her family is a beautiful mix of individuals, and they don’t have a traditional mom and dad living with them. They don’t have their birth mother either. Books like Just the Way We Are are so important because they help explain that families come in all shapes and sizes.
This book is set in Australia, and I absolutely love that it features the jacaranda tree. These trees have these gorgeous purple flowers, and I can see them blooming from my kitchen window. It’s just lovely. The book showcases different families, like one with a mom, dad, and grandpa. Then it moves on to a family with two dads, and the child talks about the fun things they do together. It’s all about celebrating our differences and embracing them.
We also meet a child named Henry who lives with his mom in one house and his dad in another. At first, it was a bit strange, but now they’re used to it and everyone is happy. And then there’s Izzy, a foster child, who talks about her guardian parents and the fun things they do as a family. I was thrilled to see that the book also includes a child with no dad at all, like my friend’s IVF baby. It’s important to acknowledge all types of families.
The book ends by saying that on our street, there are all sorts of families, and they’re all perfect in their own special way. It asks a simple question: Do you get lots of hugs filled with love? If you do, then your family is perfect just the way it is. Isn’t that beautiful?
Just the Way We Are is a lovely little book that celebrates the uniqueness of families. It’s not specifically a sex education book, but it fits perfectly into conversations about love, sex, relationships, and growing up. You can use it as a starting point to talk about your own family and how it came to be. For example, you can discuss why a child in the book has just a mom and explore how babies are made without needing both a man and a woman. You can even touch on topics like surrogacy and adoption.
All in all, it’s a great book that sparks important conversations and promotes acceptance. I highly recommend it. Alright, I hope that helps. Cheers!
