Whether it’s Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents’ Day, or Siblings’ Day, we love to celebrate our families! Each family is unique and made up of its own different parts. Maybe there’s adoption, divorce, or extended family that live with you. Regardless of who makes up a family, they are full of love and care for one another.
Try one of these books for a story with families that are a bit different from what we usually think of as the norm. They’re all full of heart and care – perfect to be shared with your family!
Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn
“Cat and her brother Chicken have always had a very special bond–When he has a “meltdown” she’s the one who scratches his back and reads his favorite story. But when a summer trip doesn’t go according to plan, Cat and Chicken end up spending three weeks with grandparents they never knew. For the first time in years, Cat has the opportunity to be a kid again.”
A wonderful story about the bond Cat shares with her brother, her relationship with her mother – both as her daughter and surrogate caretaker for Chicken, and the new family she finds in her grandparents.
Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder
“For a kid bouncing from foster home to foster home, The Book of Changes is the perfect companion. That’s why Marin carries three pennies and a pocket-sized I Ching with her everywhere she goes. Yet when everything in her life suddenly starts changing–when Marin lands in a foster home that feels like somewhere she could stay, maybe forever–the pennies don’t have any answers for her.”
This story is about a girl hoping to find her birth mother, perhaps even go home with her again, and how she finds a mother who loves her and truly wants her in her latest foster parent, Lucy.
Solo by Alexander Kwame with Mary Rand Hess
“Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy, including the loss of his mother.
In reality, the only thing Blade and Rutherford have in common is the music that lives inside them. But when a long-held family secret comes to light, the music disappears. In its place is a letter, one that could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for.”
Told in verse, Blade’s story takes him from Hollywood all the way to the country of Ghana in West Africa. He meets people there that show him what it means to have a purpose and feel fulfilled.
A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi
“Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal.
The cook’s daughter, Sakina, still hasn’t told her parents that she’ll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score–but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family’s kitchen?”
Two girls with very different backgrounds come together through family connections to learn from one another, help each other, and support each other and their dreams!
Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins
“When Hannah’s cousin Cal moves in with her family, everything changes. Cal tells half-truths and tall tales, pranks Hannah constantly, and seems to be the reason her parents are fighting more and more. She knows that Cal went through a lot after his mom died and she is trying to be patient, but most days Hannah just wishes Cal never moved in.”
This book alternates between Hannah and Cal’s perspectives as they struggle with new circumstances, their family, and how to be honest with each other and themselves. The entire story is told in verse and is about coming together with kindness and compassion in even the hardest of times.
