This book is good to read to children who are going to have to go through some family changes. There are families who are growing and changing every day. This would be good to read to a child who is going to have a stepfather or stepmother, stepsister or stepbrother, or even a halfsister or halfbrother. It does a good job explaining how things work like what the relationships are and the labels of the people are now in the new blended family. There was an example with labels which makes it easier for children to read and understand.

The main message of this book is to reassure children that being a part of a blended family is not scary and that they will still be loved. Blended families can be confusing for younger children and they can take the news in a very bad way. However, in this book, it reassures children that becoming a blended family is not scary. The child is still going to be loved by the new family members and they are going to do normal things that families do. There were a few examples like picking out a family pet together and making cookies. These pictures that were included will reassure the child that it will be okay and they will still be an important part of the blended family. ( )

I liked this book for several reasons. I liked that each picture, which takes up a whole page, corresponds to the words written on the next page. This way, when the reader is reading they can associate the text with the pictures. For example, on one page there is an African American boy and a white girl playing with a puppy. The text reads “Mindy and her stepbrother pick out a family pet”. This is appropriate for young readers because it allows them to make connections and visualize the text. I also enjoyed that the language is simple enough for beginning readers. There are simple sentences on each page, such as “Jose and his half-sister go shopping” which first or second grade readers could read. I also enjoyed that on several pages, which had more complex family dynamics, the characters are labeled in the illustrations. On the page dedicated to stepsiblings, each character is labeled and referenced by name in the text. This will help clarify any confusion young readers have about their relationship. I like that the back of the book has a glossary with key terms such as sibling, stepmother, stepsibling and half sibling. This way, if kids have questions about a word they can look it up. The definitions are still simple enough for children in first and second grade. Lastly, I liked that the book’s last page had the message “Blended families love each other”. This helps children understand that although members of the family may not be related by blood, they are still family and families love each other just like any other family would. The main message of this book is to inform young children about blended families. ( )

I enjoyed this book because of its positive representation of blended families, in a way that is easily understandable for children. I believe that students should be taught about diversity as young as possible, and this book puts blended families into terms that young children can understand. Each page contains a few sentences in large, bold font, which makes it easy for children to read. The pictures are clearly labeled so children grasp an understanding of how blended families are formed. This is a book that can be used to positively educate young children, as well as make it relatable. Unfortunately, lots of children go through parent divorce or separation, even during young years, so this book make be comforting for some children to know they are not alone. There are also pictures of the families doing everyday activities, showing that all families are special, which I believe is the main message. ( )

"Blended Families" is a very simple informational book on "blended" families, or step-families. Each page contains a single sentence defining the different components of blended families, each one having an accompanying photograph. The use of real photographs as opposed to illustrations really helps the reader relate to the book, see its practical use, and understand its accuracy; they can trust this book to be true. This is undoubtedly a book for very early readers, probably K-2nd grade at most. The book only contains simple sentences, which makes it effective for its audience; however, the lack of complex language makes it unappealing to older readers. Its positive attitude towards blended families help those young readers who may be struggling to understand their own (or others') families have a similar disposition on the topic. I appreciate the representation of POC throughout the photographs. If I were to change anything about the book, it would be to add LGBT family representation. This would be nice, but its lack doesn't take away from the book's effectiveness. The point-of-view is 3rd person, which helps keeps it simple and to-the-point. ( )

Summary: This book explains what a blended family looks like and the different aspects of blended families. The book describes siblings as well and how these go into play with a family.

Evaluation/Argument: This book does a great job of presenting the information to readers in an understandable way. The text is very easy to understand. The photographs are used to allow readers to be able to visualize what different aspects of a family look like. The different use of text features allow readers to identify different people and parts of a family in certain photographs. This is very helpful for young readers who rely more heavily on pictures to help them understand the story. The author does a great job emphasizing the fact that children can have fun with their step parent or half sibling. I think that this is very important because a lot of people today have negative opinions about their step parents or siblings.
The central message of this story is that blended families are formed by two families becoming one. These new family can have a lot of fun together. This family also loves each other just the same. Embracing a blended family is very important to ensure that everyone in the family feels loved by one another. ( )