A Family Is a Family Is a Family

by Sara O'Leary, Qin Leng (Illustrator)

Overview

When a teacher asks her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different, but the same in one important way ...

When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all.

One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One has many stepsiblings, and another has a new baby in the family.

As her classmates describe who they live with and who loves them — family of every shape, size and every kind of relation — the child realizes that as long as her family is full of caring people, it is special.

A warm and whimsical look at many types of families, written by award-winning author Sara O’Leary, with quirky and sweet illustrations by Qin Leng.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.9
Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554987948
Publisher:	Groundwood Books
Publication date:	09/01/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	88,494
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

SARA O'LEARY is a writer of fiction for both adults and children. Her highly acclaimed picture books include Percy’s Museum, illustrated by Carmen Mok; Night Walk, illustrated by Ellie Arscott; A Family Is a Family Is a Family, illustrated by Qin Leng (USBBY Outstanding International Books); and Maud and Grand-Maud, illustrated by Kenard Pak. She has also written This Is Sadie (adapted for the stage for New York City Children’s Theater) and the award-winning series of Henry books, all illustrated by Julie Morstad. Sara writes for children’s animation and teaches at Concordia Universityin Montreal.

QIN LENG lives and works as a designer and illustrator in Toronto. She graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and artwork. Her picture books include Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki (APALA Award, Governor General’s Literary Award finalist); Away by Emil Sher and A Family Is a Family Is a Family by Sara O’Leary (both USBBY Outstanding International Books); When I Found Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award finalist) and I Am Small, which Qin has written and illustrated.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for author Sara O’leary, illustrator Qin Leng and A Family Is a Family Is a Family:

USBBY's Outstanding International Books List

A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year

"The broad diversity of family constellations is refreshing . . . A-plus fabulous." — Kirkus, starred review

"Leng's drawings of domestic life are, like O'Leary's writing, winsome but never sentimental. Together they offer a straightforward, optimistic view of everyday modern life." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A sweet and tender tale that shows that families are composed of love regardless of how they may be configured." — School Library Journal, starred review

“[R]aucous and relatable.” — LitHub

Praise for Song for a Summer Night

“The poetry is a soft and lovely lullaby . . . The delicate illustrations, fashioned with ink and brush and digitally colored in pastel tones, evoke the beauty of the quiet night with perfect charm.” — School Library Journal

“The atmosphere Heidbreder suggests with letters, Leng amplifies with soft colors, dreamy images, and blended backgrounds. Go ahead: get ready to snuggle in and share this summer lullaby tonight.” — BookDragon

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/18/2016
When the question of what makes one’s family “special” comes up in the classroom, O’Leary’s (This Is Sadie) young narrator blushes and looks down in shame. “My family is not like everybody else’s,” she thinks. Then her classmates take turns talking about their own families, and the differences among them are both marked and wonderful. One boy notes, “I have more grandparents than anybody else I know.” Another child explains, “There are lots of kids in our family. Mom and Dad just keep coming home with more.” There’s a joint-custody family, an adoptive family, a blended family, and multicultural families; there are families led by gay couples and by grandparents. By the time the narrator reveals that she’s a foster child, she has realized that difference is an essential part of what makes a family a family. Leng’s (Happy Birthday, Alice Babette) drawings of domestic life are, like O’Leary’s writing, winsome but never sentimental. Together they offer a straightforward, optimistic view of everyday modern life. Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. Illustrator’s agency: Shannon Associates. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

[R]aucous and relatable.

LitHub

Praise for author Sara O’leary, illustrator Qin Leng and A Family Is a Family Is a Family:

USBBY's Outstanding International Books List

A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year


"The broad diversity of family constellations is refreshing . . . A-plus fabulous." — Kirkus, starred review

"Leng's drawings of domestic life are, like O'Leary's writing, winsome but never sentimental. Together they offer a straightforward, optimistic view of everyday modern life." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A sweet and tender tale that shows that families are composed of love regardless of how they may be configured." — School Library Journal, starred review

“[R]aucous and relatable.” — LitHub

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—A classroom of young children are asked to consider what makes families special. The narrator, a student whose head is hanging low, is nervous about answering, because she feels her family is too different from everyone else's. One by one, the students share, in intricate spreads, what makes their families unique. One student says that her mom and dad keep coming home with more children, another declares that both her moms are terrible singers, another mentions that she lives with her grandmother, and "fair's fair" for a child who stays with her mom one week and her father the next. After listening to all the students, the young narrator recalls a time in the park when her foster mother was asked to point out her real children. Her answer: "Oh, I don't have any imaginary children…. All my children are real." In this warm, nondiscriminating narrative, O'Leary removes limiting definitions and labels like "adopted," "fostered," or "divorced" and instead presents a tale that is innocent and wise. Leng's ink and digitally rendered watercolor illustrations are light and airy and complement the text by capturing the thoughts and purity of a child's perspective. The classroom is a beautiful blend of children of different races, genders, and body types. VERDICT Parents, caregivers, and educators will appreciate the message that this story offers for one-on-one sharing and for discussion with small groups. A sweet and tender tale that shows that families are composed of love regardless of how they may be configured.—Brianne Colombo, Pequannock Township Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

★ 2016-07-02
A picture-book affirmation of family diversity.The opening double-page spread depicts a diverse class of 13 children sitting at their desks in a circle when their teacher asks them to share “what we thought made our family special.” The first-person narrator silently worries. “My family is not like everybody else’s.” The accompanying illustration shows one child, seated at a desk across the circle from the teacher, with eyes downcast, red cheeks, and closed body language. The following spreads are narrated by individual classmates who deliver matter-of-fact, often humorous commentary on their families, augmented by Leng’s appealing cartoon illustrations that lend humor and vitality to characterization. The broad diversity of family constellations is refreshing and ultimately soothing to the worried child from the first spread. After hearing classmates talk about having two moms, two dads, many siblings, divorced parents, a blended family, single parents, mixed-race families, a grandmother who’s “my everything,” and more, the narrator recalls a time when a woman at the park “asked my foster mother to point out her real children. ‘Oh I don’t have any imaginary children,’ Mom said. ‘All my children are real.’ ” This good-natured but firm response is both empowering and instructive, as is the welcome inclusion of a foster family in this thoughtful, needed book. A-plus fabulous. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews