Title: A Family is a Family is a Family
Author: Sara O’Leary
Illustrator: Qin Leng
Published: Groundwood Books, 2016

There are books that Lily likes. We read those about once a week. Then there are books she LOVES and they are on a far higher rotation. This is one of the ‘LOVE’ books. We’ve read A Family is a family is a family so many times…and yet, it doesn’t get old.

And trust me when I say that MOST books get old after being read for the fifteenth time in a single day.

This book is a bit magical – it’s super-simple (in terms of premise) but it does what it does (explaining the concept of a family/who makes up a family) beautifully and elegantly. And the art works so well in supporting the text. It’s delightful all around.

These are the things we (that would be Lily and yours truly) like best about the book:

1. The Duggar-sized family: we like counting all the children and marvelling at why one would want to go through so many pregnancies because OMG, pregnancy is basically the most uncomfortable, nausea-filled experience a person can have. (Mostly I marvel about that part.)
2. The kid with a ton of grandparents: we’ve tried to figure out HOW he has so many grandparents, and the closest we can come is that maybe he lives in an old person’s home with his primary set of grandparents, and has adopted many other elderly people.
3. The one with the grandma: when the kid says that her grandma is her everything, I always choke up a bit. It’s sweet to think that you’re potentially that important to the little people in your life.
4. The two dads page: I love the fact that two dads/two moms are featured in this book. Whenever we reach the two dads page, Lily always says “Like Uncle Jay and Uncle Shean are to Bumper, Mia, and Lara!” (Note: the latter three names belong to cats. My BFF and his hubby are cat-dads.)
5. The final page, when you meet the little girl who started off the story. It turns out, she’s a foster kid. The response her foster mom gives a curious stranger is absolutely perfect. (“Oh, I don’t have any imaginary children. All my children are real.”)

As someone who is a big believer in ‘family is who you choose,’ I love this book. It shows that one doesn’t need to share blood to share a bond. (My girls already know this, seeing as they have about 25 non-related aunties, uncles and cousins that they adore…but it’s good to have it reinforced.)

A Family is a family is a family is one of those warm-and-fuzzy books. It’s wonderful and affirming and a terrific read before bed. It also covers pretty much every combination and permutation of families that you’re likely to encounter. And, OK, so they didn’t feature cat-dads, but aside from that, this book doesn’t miss a thing.

Mama’s review: 5/5

Lily’s review: “I just love this book. It’s all about what it means to be a family.”