Background
Robert Skutch is an American author born in 1925 and has published multiple books such as ''Journey Without Distance: The Story Behind a Course in Miracles, The Day the World Forgot'', and another children's book named ''Albie's Trip to the Jumble Jungle.'' Skutch has also written for television and radio shows throughout his life In an NPR interview from 2005, Skutch says that his inspiration for writing this book was because his niece and her partner decided to start a family.Summary
The book begins by saying "a family can be made up in many different ways" and fills the first two pages of the book with illustrations of six different types of families. Skutch elaborates on this point by acknowledging that animals have families too, and includes illustrations of different animal families. Skutch uses illustrations of bird, pig, kangaroo, penguin, money, elephant, lion, dog, and bear families. Through the course of the book, Skutch designates an individual page for the many different family structures such as. depicts traditional, single-parent, same-gender, inter-racial, extended, and only-child families. The book concludes with illustrations of various family portraits and with the line, "Who's in a family? The people who love you the most."Analysis
''Who's in a Family?'' represents some of the ways that a "family" exists today. Years ago, the perspective of a traditional family included two parents, a mom and a dad, raising their children together under one roof. However, today there are many possible variations of a family, as seen in Skutch's book. The book is suited for young children as it introduces how families can look different; it opens the door for parents and children to communicate about family differences, and more importantly, it allows for children to become educated and accepting of various family dynamics. Furthermore, this book allows parents to emphasize the practice of unconditional love for others. The book is suited for young children as it introduces how families can look different. Finally, Skutch said in his NPR interview that "the whole purpose of the book was to get the subject f same-sex parent householdsout into the minds and the awareness of children before they are old enough to have been convinced that there's another way of looking at life."Genre
''Who's in A Family?'' is a fictional, illustrated children's book, specifically intended for kindergarten to second-grade students. This book includes traditional, single-parent, same-gender, inter-racial, extended, and only-child families. The book addresses topics related to LGBTQ, multi-race, and traditional relationships, and how these families navigate through life. Who's in a Family? contains colorful, pencil illustrations which show a diverse array of animal and human families.Reception
Reviews
In an article from the ''School Library Journal'', Martha Topol claims that children's books like ''Who's in a Family?'' are intended to educate children on different family structures. Topol, along with an author for ''The Spectator'', Susan Clairmont, think that this genre of book should be given to children after questions about these topics begin to arise to reassure and clarify but should not just be given to children without background knowledge or questions. Susan Clairmont also raises the question of whether these genres of children's stories will do "more harm than good" to children who did not ask about these topics.Controversy
The book was at the center of a controversy in the state ofReferences
{{Reflist Children's books with LGBT themes American picture books 1997 children's books Intercultural and interracial relationships LGBT-related controversies in literature