Families

Kuklin, Susan. Families. New York: Hyperion, 2006. Print.

Looking at Susan Kuklin’s Families, I found the breadth of the different families along with the pictures to be its strongest suit.  The main point of the book was to show the different types of families and show that within each one there is a safe place where everyone is valued and loved.  Each vignette of a family has at least one of the children in it explaining the specifics of the family, traditions (often relating to their ancestry or culture) and relationship to other family members.

While looking at the readability lexile, I would place Families in the language as middle elementary because of middle length sentences that are fairly simple to read.  However, many cultural specific words that are not widely used are often included.  Words like: kosher and Ramadan may be completely new and confusing to students. 

Cognitively, I would place the book at a late elementary because although family is a common thread in American society, the way each family operates and its specifics are often not covered by any other means in school.  In other words, the way the family operates, its rules and relations may be foreign to the student audience.  They stand to learn a lot about families in this book, however there is a lot to understand and take in. 

Socially, I place the book at early adolescence because there are so many differences in each family that is portrayed.  Students need to have an open mind, maturity and patience to understand and appreciate the differences contained in the book.

Looking at the requirements for high quality literature, the families within face issues and problems that are believable to readers.  The desire to be accepted, loved and make sense of one’s family are factors we strive to achieve through our whole life, not just as students in school.  This book is a great icebreaker for students who may be striving to make sense of a change in their family or don’t feel “normal” when it comes to families. 

Through the common thread of love and acceptance in the many different types of families, the students overcome their problems, which although is not explicitly stated, I believe is fitting in within a non-traditional family.  Looking at the pictures and reading the children’s words describing their family is enough evidence to show that they are content within their family. 

The characters in Families are many-sided.  Through their family and modern society the members forge their identity and appreciate who their family is and how they fit into its structure.  One example of this is Lily and Jacob who have two moms.  They call Lucy (mom #1) “Mom” and Jennie (mom #2) “Mama.”  The children go to Mom and Mama for different questions and help with everyday problems.  Instead of defining their parents by their sex they define their two moms by their respective personalities.  Through example like these, the class can see the changes that have taken place over time and how traditional families are no longer traditional. 

The multileveled themes present in Families are: religion, food, family dynamics, social norms, education, identity, roles within the family and sexuality to name just a few.  Each family profiled has traits that set it apart from the other families, supporting a view of celebrating diversity and familial love.  It is through each family that students need to identify the differences and similarities that allow everyone to grow as members of a social unit. 

Since the child or children tell all of the explanations about the family, any negative stereotypes that could be present are straight from the source and not the author.  This doesn’t happen however, and the portrayal of each family is positive and uplifting--mainly embracing differences and individuality.  The central tenants are: love, acceptance, celebration of diversity and the cohesiveness of the family—in all its forms.  These traits will hopefully inspire students to take pride in their family and get to know them better. 

The literary elements I found present were: setting as mood, the theme of personal development and point of view.  The setting is the family’s house, which has their identity.  On many family profiles there are pictures of the family’s ancestors or important artifacts that defines who they are.  The theme of personal development is present through the children growing within the family and discovering their identities.  The child’s or children’s point of view is their ability to describe the family that reflects its identity, what they like, don’t like and the social situation.  The point of view is clearly from a child and is lighthearted, honest and accessible to the reader and classroom audience. 

There are no illustrations in the book, however the pictures reveal real people in their actual houses, not an interpretive drawing.  These pictures are honest, informative and support the message in the text. 

Since all of the families portrayed are presented in a positive light, one idea for a minilesson would be to have the students write in their journals which family they identified with the most.  This would allow the students to realize some of the positive traits associated with non-traditional families and their own family.  

Overall, I would place Families target audience at middle elementary because students must have a base level of acceptance and maturity to appreciate the different types of families.  Also, at this age the concept of family is firmly in place and they are ready to branch off and learn more about different types of families.