A few picture books we’ve read recently started me thinking about the theme of families. Once I started making a list, one book quickly led to another – and this is not an exhaustive list! Many of these books include grandparents and extended family; a couple include foster parents (Just Like A Mama and A Family Is A Family Is A Family); one explains “what makes a baby” in a way that includes all kinds of families; and many are multicultural and inter-generational.

I have a separate list of books about when new siblings are added to a family, which I’ll share in a future post.

How families get started…

• What Makes A Baby by Corey Silverberg, illus. Fiona Smyth
• Nine Months by Miranda Paul, illus. Jason Chin

Grandparents

• Grandma’s Tiny House by JaNay Brown-Wood, illus. Priscilla Burris
• Maud and Grand-Maud by Sara O’Leary, illus. Kenard Pak
• Between Us and Abuela by Mitali Perkins, illus. Sara Palacios
• I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, illus. Julia Kuo
• A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu, illus. Christina Forshay
• Drawn Together by Minh Lȇ, illus. Dan Santat
• Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina, illus. Angela Dominguez
• Just in Case by Yuyi Morales
• Yoko’s Paper Cranes by Rosemary Wells
• The Button Box by Margarette S. Reid, illus. Sarah Chamberlain

Mamas

• Saturday by Oge Mora
• Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, illus. Sophie Blackall
• City Moon by Rachael Cole, illus. Blanca Gomez
• Me & Mama by Cozbi A. Cabrera

Dads

• Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
• Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illus. Vashti Harrison
• The Blue House by Phoebe Wahl

Families together

• A Family Is A Family Is A Family by Sara O’Leary, illus. Qin Leng
• Home Is In Between by Mitali Perkins, illus. Lavanya Naidu

• When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith, illus. Nicole Neidhardt
• Just Like A Mama by Alice Faye Duncan, illus. Charnelle Pinkney Barlow
•  All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins, illus. Paul O. Zelinsky
• Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang, illus. Charlene Chua
• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (1983 Caldecott Honor)

Early readers/beginning chapter books

• Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi, illus. Hatem Ali
• Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy by Laurel Snyder, illus. Emily Hughes

I hope you discover something new on this list that you come to love and share. And please, feel free to add your favorite family books in the comments!