Radio Segment: All in the Family

This past week I spoke about books that deal with the subject of family. I realize this is a pretty broad topic and can encompass most everything that has ever been written, but I used it as an excuse to talk about my favourite picture book ever: A Family is a Family is a Family, by Sara O’Leary. This is probably the first time I’ve come close to crying on air (hopefully the last, as this is a book column for christ’s sake), but I was able to laugh at myself as I felt my eyes welling up. The host of course pointed out that I was getting choked up, which made it even worse. To hear my embarrassing sound effects, you can listen to the whole segment here. 

So why do I feel so strongly about this book? Because it’s so simple yet teaches us one of the most important lessons we can learn as humans. Unfortunately many people have forgotten this lesson lately, but it is still important: accept people’s differences. Why is that so hard these days? One of the recent theories that I’ve started spouting off is that if people stopped and read kid’s books more often, they would be reminded of what’s important in life, and how to be a good person in general. And if more people were reminded of these basic facts of life, the world would be a much better place.

Ok enough preaching. I also reviewed Grace O’Connell’s Be Ready for the Lightning. My written review can be found here. This is another fabulous book, and a literary thriller just perfect for the summer months which is why I chose to highlight it.

So what’s your favourite picture book of all time? Does it have a great lesson to it, or are the illustrations just super cool? Comment below!