While traditional family holidays like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are celebrated in many schools, today’s students come from increasingly diverse and non-traditional families. Do the books in your classroom reflect this wide variety of family structures so students from all different types of families feel recognized and understood?
No matter what your family looks like, you can find it in a book! Help all readers see their families reflected, and learn what other families might look like, by adding titles like these to your classroom library.
This story is about a young girl named Stella, who has two dads and plenty of other loving family members, but no mom to bring to her school’s Mother’s Day celebration.
Two dads are also featured in this picture book, based on the true story of two male penguins at the New York Zoo who became inseparable and created a penguin family together.
3. Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born
Jamie Lee Curtis is the author of this title, which addresses how adoption starts a family in a beautiful yet matter-of-fact manner.
4. Who’s In My Family? All About Our Families
Two siblings on a trip to the zoo discuss the many different types of families they see in this nonfiction picture book.
Horton isn’t a traditional father (for one thing, he’s an elephant), but he cares for his adopted egg with the love and attention every child deserves from a primary caregiver.
In this work of realistic fiction, Alex enjoys living in the homes of both of his divorced parents, who both love him very much even though they are no longer married to each other.
This nonfiction title introduces students to many different types of families, including those with single parents, gay or lesbian parents, divorced parents and mixed race couples.
This fictional story of an interracial adoptive family with two moms and no dad is by bestselling author Patricia Polacco.
Not all children live with their parents. In this Jacqueline Woodson title, a young African American girl lives with her grandmother and excitedly awaits a visit with her incarcerated father.
10. A Family Is a Family Is a Family
When a teacher asks her class to think about what makes their families special, she receives responses from students in all different types of families.
Does your classroom need more books with a variety of family structures? Email literacy@booksource.com to get in touch with a Booksource Literacy Accounts Manager, who can help you select titles to fill the gaps in your book collection.
This is a great list of titles, and there are a few I’m not familiar with, so I will be purchasing them. Thanks!
Hi Rita, We are so glad you found some new title recommendations on this list! If you are an educator, you can purchase the books you are interested in online at Booksource.com, or you can call us at 800.444.0435 and your Literacy Accounts Manager can suggest additional titles and/or put together a price quote. Happy Reading, Your Booksource Team