Families Around the World

PreS-Gr 2—This large-format picture book presents a variety of families from around the world: biracial, single parent, multigenerational, and more. Fourteen families are included, all based on real people whom the author interviewed. For each family, simple text describes common activities, such as cooking food, visiting relatives, or going to school, infusing these universal experiences with culturally specific details. For instance, a Brazilian family sips maracuja (passion fruit) juice. Another family, who emigrated from China to Canada, eats lasagna with chopsticks, while J-Ch'eel, a Mexican girl living in a Mayan village, wakes up and puts on her huipil (helpfully defined in the glossary as a "traditionally embroidered shirt or dress"). The book also contains a map, with spot illustrations of all the children, that shows where they live. Rendered in a combination of acrylic paint, cut paper, pencil crayon, and ink, and using copious amounts of white space, the colorful collages pop from the page. This title will be an effective window on the world and an introduction to nonfiction text features, such as a glossary, a table of contents, and bolded headings. An author's note suggests activities to help guide children "toward a better understanding of the world around us," including a poem about families. An attractive and informative multicultural offering.—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL