One Family

March 2, 2015
Shannon’s (Hands Say Love) message is clear: no matter how many people there are in a family, what color they are, or what ages they are, they’re still a family. An Asian mother and child romp on hobby horses before bedtime: “One is two./ One pair of shoes. One team of horses./ One family.” Gomez’s (Besos for Baby) combinations of families from one to 10 present lots of possibilities—grandparents and children, fathers in turbans, single-parent families, families whose members don’t look alike at all. Linking them to ways of counting groups of familiar things (“One is five./ One bunch of bananas. One hand of cards./ One family”), Shannon’s blank verse brings home the idea of unity in multiplicity. Gomez’s figures have a pleasing, doll-like look, with round heads whose features convey friendliness. Her scenes of city life are imbued with warmth, comfort, and a kind of universality—there’s little obvious luxury or poverty. It’s a quiet vision of a world in which every family is accepted. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Mary Cummings, Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

February 15, 2015
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.Shannon's text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. "One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly's legs. One family." Gomez's richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For "six," a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text's culminating assertion that "One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family." A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)

Starred review from March 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-This deceptively simple concept book celebrates family and community, while also offering young readers a chance to practice counting. Each spread features an increasing number of people who form a family. From babies in buggies to white-haired elders holding hands, families stretch across generations and races. Young listeners will recognize familiar activities such as strolling through the zoo, doing laundry, or baking cookies. The brief text mentions objects to be counted, and children can practice again with a spread that features all the items from 1 to 10. A final view of the city streets brings together many of the people featured in earlier pages to celebrate "One is one and everyone./ One earth. One world./ One family." Gomez's rich colors and clean design make the book a good choice for small group sharing, but she also includes many details to be appreciated in solo rereadings. Even the fly leaves are carefully designed. In the front, individual portraits of people and animals gaze ahead as they hang on the wall. In the back, the characters lean from their frames to converse with one another, while some of the pets escape entirely. VERDICT Thoughtful text and great design make this counting book a top choice for most libraries.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Preschool-G This counting book celebrates authentic and engaging diversity, featuring families of many sizes, ethnicities, gender orientations, and even ages. Gomez's appealing flat cartoon peopleall infectiously cheerful and composed of blocky shapes, round heads, and minimal, yet expressive, facesappear at home, in a variety of urban landscapes, or in more exotic tableaux, such as a winter seaside outing. Shannon's gentle counting rhythms subtly illustrate the idea that families come in all shapes and sizes, and little ones will easily catch on to the repeated refrain of One family. The warm full-color page spreads include visual clues to help with counting and plenty of engaging background details. The breadth of diversity on display is refreshing: families include multigenerational homes, interracial marriage, neighboring households, children who identically resemble their parents and those who don't. With a sweet, timeless message and a contemporary setting with which many kids might identify, this is a nice addition to titles like Patricia Polacco's Chicken Sunday (1992) and Mary Ann Hoberman's All Kinds of Families! (2009).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)