Life with my Family by Renee Hooker and Karl Jones – OPTIONAL

Life with my Family by Renee Hooker and Karl Jones, illustrated by Kathryn Durst –ADVISABLE. Penguin (Penguin Random) 2018. $18.00. 9781524789374

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3)  –OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

A girl wonders how her family would be different if they were animals instead of humans. It dives into the fun collective nouns used for groups of animals, such as a smack of jellyfish, ect. Features large bright illustrations.

There are many books about collective nouns, some of which I prefer to this book. That being said, its simple, fun, and easy to share with a group of students. It could lead to an activity where a student has to draw their family as a group of animals and then find out the collective noun. There is one odd part of the story, where the girl realizes that as an animal, they could be captured and taken to the zoo. While that is true (among other dangers such as be hunted, climate change, and more), it is an odd downer and a sad reason to come back to wanting to be part of a human family. (For example maybe it could be because she loves her family just the way they are, or that she doesn't want to eat bugs, ect).

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.