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CM . . . .
Volume VI Number 8 . . . . December 10, 1999
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Families.
Debbie Bailey. Photos by Susan Huszar.
Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 1999.
104 pp., cloth, $19.95.
ISBN 1-55037-594-6.
Grades preschool / Ages 1 - 3.
Review by Liz Greenaway.
**** /4
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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!
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@mts.net.
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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