This precious little picture book is delightful. It helps us all see that families are all different and yet filled with love. My daughter loves animals and found this book so intriguing. We were able to have great conversations about different families. This would be great in a classroom to help children feel comfortable about their own family story!

The publisher provided an ARC through Netgalley. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts

Thanks for the advanced copy of this book from Laura Purdie Salas. Say Happy Birthday to it tomorrow, March 1st!
Early in school, sometimes even pre-school, curriculums include studies of families. And sometimes picture books are read to children that show what used to be a "normal" family: mother, father, one or more kids. In our world, however, lots of different human families exist and it's great to know that "normal" is just a six-letter word that includes a wide array of combinations. It's also terrific to see different make-ups of families presented by Laura in her latest book, Meet My Family, Animal Babies and Their Families. Laura is known for numerous and marvelous non-fiction poetry books like A Rock Can Be, and while the writing is poetic, this is not a poetry book, but a wonderful sharing of twenty-two animal babies and families, and a peek at a few human families, too!
There are interesting differences among the behaviors: some fight for food with siblings like pigs; other stay with families for a long time, like beavers for two years; and all the 'ladies' in the elephant herd care for the young, no males allowed! Interesting diversity is shown with river otters, who play and stay all together. Everyone cares for the other, a big family, contrasted with the baby green sea turtle who from its hatching, must fend for itself, all alone.


Stephanie Fizer Coleman paints the families realistically in their colorful habitats, adding the names of each baby animal, like a rhino calf and a great white shark pup. And when appropriate, some other languages are used, like "mi madre" for "my mother" on the wood stork page and Mamàe and Papai on the page about the South American Titi monkey.
Additional information includes a glossary with the various terms used, the animal name, word for parents, pronunciation, meaning, with what language and region, a page with short pieces about where each animal lives, an author’s note and a list for further research.

Laura wants us to know that “we can be loved and cared for in many different ways.” It's nice to imagine reading this book to young children and having them draw and write about their own families. Thanks to Laura, we can do that!
One added thing to love: the back cover by Stephanie Fizer Coleman shows sweet portraits in picture frames of all the animals/ paralleling the front cover - so, so cute.

"Each family's different. Each family's just right."

I loved “Meet My Family”! Animals have different types of families, just like humans. Adorable.

This book is about animal families and it tries to accomplish a lot in 36 pages. First, it's giving information about baby animals and how their families take care of them. On this front, the information is fairly limited-one fact per animal. Second, there are family words in a variety of languages that match where the animals come from. That was a little hard to understand at first, but there's a glossary at the end. Finally, there is the idea that there are lots of different kinds of families-ones with just moms or just dads. Some with more than one mom or more than one dad, some with extended families, some lots of siblings. I felt like it just was trying to do too much.

The cover of the book immediately caught my eye and I clicked on the description. It sounded delightful and I knew I wanted to read it. "Meet My Family" was a wonderful introduction to animal families around the world and I learned quite a bit. There's a nice selection of animals from around the globe, and each animal is shown in a clear, bright photograph, labeled by species. There's a brief paragraph about each animal and their family arrangements, including a word or two for mom or dad in the native language of the animal's habitat. The text is short and simple, good for younger children and ones just learning to read. There is a glossary at the back that covers the words used in the different languages, as well as the names of the animals, and a map that shows where the animals live in the wild. Children will enjoy the pictures and the friendly, relatable facts included while absorbing and learning about the animals, different families, languages, and geography. This would be a good addition to a home, classroom, or library.

This book was a labor of love. I think I spent as much time on the backmatter as on the main text! It's everything I love to play with: rhyme, fact, science, poetry, narrative voice, nature, and an exploration of a bigger question--what makes a family?

I'm so pleased with the way it came out, and I hope it will hold up a mirror for young readers in all kinds of diverse family situations!

This was a great view of how all families are different in a way that is accessible for young ages.

This is a great introduction to parents and their young in the world. There are several animals shown in wonderful illustrations with a name label and a brief fact about the family relationships. It might tell about feeding, length of time they remain with their parents, who takes care of the young etc. There is even one showing a monkey adopted by a dog. The last page shows humans with their families showcasing diversity. There is a glossary at the back as throughout the book, the names of parents are written in the language of the country where the animals live. There are resources and a map showing and telling where in the world the various animals live. This is a great book for young children. It can be used just to learn about animals, when studying families or just to read a nice story in a rhyming way. A great book for schools and classrooms.