The every baby book by Frann Preston-Gannon

With a subtitle, Families of every name Share a love that’s just the same, anyone opening this board book will know that inside will reveal a range of families and babies of all types, styles and characteristics, each sharing the one thing that makes them all unique - love.

Blended families, single parent families, a family with two women parents, or two men parents, families with parents from different backgrounds - families all mean the same thing, a baby that is loved and cared for.

Each double page shows a a large image of a family on one side and then a group of smaller images showing things that families do. Each double page is about a particular time in a family’s day: waking up, play time, sleeping and so on, and each page shows what the family does together on the facing page. By the time children have read all the pages they will have seen a whole array of things families do, ending with a birthday party in the park where all the families come together.

Babies reading the book with their parent will have their love reinforced, parents will get to see a range of other families where love is the most important thing, children will revel in the fact that their family is shown, one amongst many, all sharing love. This common thread runs through the whole book, promoting inclusivity, and extolling the virtue of love being at the heart of every family.

The illustrations are very cute, with humorous situations shown clearly. One child upends his meal on the floor, another squirts dad while a nappy is being changed.

Themes: Babyhood, Board book, Inclusivity, Humour.

Fran Knight