Great Books About Home & Family
In honor of our current learning unit: My Home and My Family, here is a list of our favorite books about home and family. We encourage you to look for these books at your local library or independent bookstore, but we’re providing Amazon links for convenience.
Who’s In a Family? By Robert Skutch
This book explores all the different types of families: one mom and one dad, two moms, two dads, two adults with beloved pets, step-parents, grandparents as caregivers, and parents who live in separate houses. It’s a simple way to explain the diversity in different families.
Applesauce Day by Lisa Amstutz
This book follows one family’s annual tradition of going to grandma’s house to make applesauce from scratch. It celebrates the importance of grandparents in the lives of children and the value of continuing family traditions over generations.
Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
Similar to “Who’s In a Family?” this book explores the many types of families and ties them together with the theme that love is what families are built on. The illustrations a bright and engaging and the children love discussing the different activities the families in the book are doing.
Ohana Means Family by Ilima Loomis
This book follows a native Hawaiian family as they prepare traditional foods, such as poi, while they get ready for a big luau. The book is written in the style of “This is the House that Jack Built” and has a rhythmic cadence and beautiful illustrations that kids love.
Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai
As Lili prepares to make bao with her Nai Nai, they realize they are running short on ingredients. Lili runs to different floors of her family’s apartment building and finds her neighbors preparing dumplings from many cultures: empanadas, beef patties, raviolis, pierogis, etc. Children get to learn about the ways we are different, but still the same.
When it comes to children’s literacy, it’s essential that we strike a balance in representation for the children. We want them to see plenty of examples of people and places that reflect their lived experiences, and we want to introduce them to ideas and concepts outside of what they personally know. Bringing a variety of books about diverse people and places into their lives is a great way to introduce them to our beautiful, complex world!
