MY FAMILY TREE AND ME

This dos-à-dos book looks at both sides of one little boy’s ancestry.

Children are often interested in but confused by the notion of great-great grandparents. Happily, Petricic’s droll watercolors make this idea both understandable and amusing. Starting with “My father’s side,” readers meet the narrator’s great-great-grandparents, sitting in their Tin Lizzie. The sepia tones, with a touch of red for great-great-grandma’s lips and orange for great-great-grandpa’s ample moustache, let the young reader know that this image is from a very long time ago. As the pages turn, the time moves toward the present, with each preceding generation appearing as a photograph on the wall in the background. New wives and husbands arrive, but careful readers will notice familial physical traits are repeated through the generations, especially that ample moustache, the need for glasses, and winningly oversized, unbalanced ears on the males. Once readers reach the present, a double-page spread of his extended, diverse family greets them. Reading backward, the mother’s side of the family is shown. Repeated careful readings of the illustrations will reveal interests and hobbies as well as physical similarities. (The father’s side loves vehicles, for instance.)

Budding genealogists will enjoy poring over this illustrated family history.