ALL FAMILIES ARE SPECIAL

In a diversity lesson covered by the thinnest veneer of plot, children in a classroom pipe up to describe their families: large, small, nuclear, and extended; interracial, international, single-parent, divorced parents, same-sex parents; comprised of multiple generations, adoptees, absent members, and even pets. The teacher goes on to lead a quick discussion about “unhappy things that happen in families,” then closes on positive notes, and the conclusion that “No families are the same. All families are definitely special!” Flavin’s smiling, multicultural cast reinforces the message of this bluntly purposeful tale designed to spark family or class interchanges while validating a wide variety of family arrangements. (Picture book. 6-8)