________________ CM . . . . Volume VI Number 8 . . . . December 10, 1999

cover Families.

Debbie Bailey. Photos by Susan Huszar.
Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 1999.
104 pp., cloth, $19.95.
ISBN 1-55037-594-6.

Subject Heading:
Family-Juvenile literature.

Preschool / Ages 1 - 3.
Review by Liz Greenaway.

**** /4

excerpt:

My dad is very special. We play with toys, and look at books. My dad and I like to go for walks. Sometimes we walk to the park or go for ice cream. I like to help my dad buy groceries. When we cook together, I set the table. At the end of the day, my dad gives me a bath, and helps me comb my hair. I love my dad and my dad loves me. My dad!
image Families is a wonderful addition to any daycare or home library. Originally published as six individual books in the "Talk-about-Books" series, Annick Press has re-released the titles - including My Mom, My Dad, Brothers, Sisters, Grandpa and Grandma - into one larger format hardcover edition. The text by Debbie Bailey is simple but not artificial and deals with things familiar to most young children, such as trips to the park, ice cream, and getting ready for bed. Colour photos by Susan Huszar are attractively framed in strong borders and feature real people in every day situations. There are no models or stiff artifical poses in this collection which makes it all the more endearing. It is also ethnically diverse without looking like it tried too hard. I liked the lack of traditional stereotypes in this book. Grandmas, for example, do quilt, but they also hammer while grandpas can be in wheelchairs, or they can toboggan, ride motorcycles and work. Because the "stories" are sequential but not truly interconnected, I thought they effectively explored what makes up a family without being dogmatic about it.
     My two-and-a-half year old was quite taken with it, too.

Highly recommended.

Liz Greenaway is a former bookseller living in Edmonton, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - December 10, 1999.

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