Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Inspired by the authors' daughter, this straightforward tale details different family structures from the first-person perspective of four-year-old Rumi, whose light-skinned family includes two fathers and a younger brother, plus a dog. Brockington and Webster write spare prose: "Daddy and Dada told me that families come in all shapes and sizes./ Two dads./ One dad and one mom./ Two moms," one spread reads, as attendant families each gather on a beach. In a cartoonish dot-eyed style emphasized by bold, flat colors, May digitally illustrates a cast of varying abilities, ages, skin tones, and partner pairs eating ice cream, playing sports, and getting musical, as well as finding family among friends. Without employing a narrative arc, this book straightforwardly illustrates a range of families. Ages 4--8. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Written by real-life fathers and couple Brockington and Webster, this sweet and affirming picture book is a love letter to all kinds of families. On the title page, blonde, four-year-old narrator Rumi introduces herself to readers. The page turn presents Daddy and Dada, who are lovingly depicted with their arms around each other. Though Daddy and Dada interact with Rumi differently, they both love her "THIS much." Readers then meet the two other members of the family: baby Xander and dog Betty; all but Xander have very pale skin. For the rest of the book, Rumi ruminates on other types of families that she sees, ranging from two to nine family members (including pets). Rumi also expands her description of her own family to include grandparents, uncles, an aunt, cousins, and even a friend who calls her a sister. As her dads say, "Sometimes friends are just like family." In the final spread, Rumi asks readers about their own families. May's digital cartoon illustrations and the book's sunny tone make for a warm and inviting story. Readers looking for books that normalize LGBTQ+ families will be delighted that this inclusive title is matter-of-fact without needing to defend or overly explain. While the featured family is white, Rumi notices a diverse array of families with various skin tones (and one wheelchair user). For all its attempted inclusivity, however, it is disappointing not to see different body sizes represented as well. VERDICT A positive, kid-friendly addition for all picture book collections.--Alec Chunn, Eugene P. L., OR
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Rumi wants you to meet her family. Rumi is 4, and she has two dads (the Daddy and Dada of the title), a little brother named Xander, and a dog named Betty. Daddy sings with her. Dada reads to her. (Xander likes to pull her hair.) Her friends have families of different types--some with a mom and a dad and others with just one parent. One boy in her neighborhood lives with just his grandmother and her cat. Rumi sees families of all sizes and makeups when she walks down the street with hers. She has two sets of grandparents (both seem to be heterosexual pairings). Her family also includes Uncle TyTy and Uncle RyRy (she danced at their wedding) and Aunt Katie and Uncle Jeremy and their kids. One of her friends calls Rumi her sister, and Rumi's dads think that is great because friends can be family too. Now Rumi wants to hear about your family. Brockington and Webster, who head a two-dad family themselves, have laid out a beautifully kid-friendly introduction to an early-21st-century constellation of family shapes told in a believable kid voice. May's simple, pleasant, smile-filled cartoon illustrations are colorful and show families that are not only varied by parent number (never more than two) and gender presentation, but also by race. One character uses a wheelchair; another wears a hijab. Rumi and her family all present White. A straightforward and nonjudgmental validation of many LGBTQ+ and other family structures. (Picture book. 2-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
