Book Review: The Family Book by Todd Parr
Updated: Oct 9
If you've seen a Todd Parr book, you already know the look: thick black outlines, bright colors, and characters that seem to be grinning right at you. The Family Book is one of our favorites of his, and it was an easy pick for the first week of the year.
What it's about
The book walks through all the ways families can look and live. Some families are big and some are small. Some have two moms or two dads, some have one parent, some have stepparents, and some are adopted. Some families live near each other and some live far apart. Some are noisy, some are quiet, and some like to be messy. Every page ends up in the same place: families come in lots of shapes, and they all love each other.
Why we like it
We love that it's short enough to hold a two-year-old's attention, but still sparks real conversation. Our kids like pointing at the page that looks most like our house. Then they flip ahead to find the silliest page.
It's also a gentle way to show kids that the families they meet at school, at the park or on TV might not look like theirs, and that's great. Parr never lectures. He just shows it, with a lot of joy and plenty of bright pink and orange.
How to read it with your little one
After each page, ask, "Is our family like that? How is ours different?"
Count the people on a page together. It's number 1 day, so find the pages with just one person or one pet.
At the end, draw your own family page in Todd Parr style: big shapes, bold colors, happy faces.
Good to know
Best for: ages 2–5
Read time: about 5 minutes
Pairs with: today's Fingerprint Investigation (make a fingerprint family!)
Get the book:Get it on Amazon · It's also easy to find at your local library.
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More for this week: see all our All About Me activities, Letter A activities and Number 1 activities.
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