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Mechanics' Institute

Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection

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Cover of The Family Book.

Cover image from Todd Parr's publisher page.

Image source

The Family Book

Creator

Todd Parr

Date

Published 2003

Format

Book

A mainstream family-diversity picture book represented here by a locally noted signed copy.

Many kinds of familiesTwo mothersTwo fathersSigned copyChallenged books
Contact About AccessBack to catalog

Overview

The Family Book is Todd Parr’s 2003 picture book about many kinds of families, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The local copy has special object value because the catalog records an autograph, a heart, a hand-drawn dog, and the date May 30, 2003. The public significance of the book is broader: Parr’s direct, brightly colored format names family differences including stepfamilies, adoption, racial difference, single-parent families, two-mom families, and two-dad families. ALA later placed the title on its 2010-2019 challenged-books list, and reporting connects objections to the line naming two mothers or two fathers. The item therefore joins a mainstream picture-book form, classroom use, family-diversity teaching, and copy-specific provenance.[2][1][4][6]

Many-Family Form

The Family Book is declarative rather than plot-driven. It moves through family types and shared experiences, using simple statements and visual directness for young readers. The local catalog emphasizes that the book includes families that are big, small, same-color, different-color, adopted, stepfamily, one-parent, two-mom, and two-dad households. ALA Rainbow Round Table review context also treats it as a preschool and public-library family-diversity title. Same-sex-parent families appear among many forms of family difference and care.[1][2][9][14]

Access Dispute Around One Sentence

The book’s challenge history shows how a broad family-diversity title can become controversial around a single recognition line. ALA lists The Family Book among frequently challenged books of the 2010s, and AP reporting connects bans and objections to language naming families with two mothers or two fathers. Todd Parr's own site later linked the title to a banned-book reading with ACLU context. The book does not need to be about sexuality in order to become an access object; simple acknowledgement of family structure was enough to produce public dispute.[4][5][15]

Parr's Visual Strategy

Parr’s visual strategy is part of the book’s public use. His flat color, heavy outlines, repetition, and direct address make the book legible for preschool and early elementary readers. This is not a dense informational guide; it is a recognition book that relies on speed, clarity, and warmth. ALA and classroom-resource sources help explain why that format traveled into public libraries, schools, and family-diversity lessons, and why objections to one sentence could carry disproportionate weight across institutions.[2][6][12][14]

Classroom Utility

HRC Welcoming Schools uses The Family Book in family-diversity educational material, which gives the item a classroom afterlife beyond private reading. This context is important for Mechanics visitors because many books in the collection become meaningful through adult mediation: teachers, librarians, parents, and advocates use them to shape conversations about families. The ACLU reading noted on Parr’s site adds another public-use context. The book’s accessibility to young children is therefore also a reason it became institutionally visible and vulnerable to challenge in schools.[6][4][15]

Timeline

  1. 2003PublicationThe Family Book is published by Little, Brown.[2][7]
  2. 2003Local copy inscriptionThe local catalog records a dated Todd Parr inscription and drawing.[1]
  3. 2004Award recognitionParr's awards page records Oppenheim Toy Portfolio recognition.[3]
  4. 2011Rainbow Round Table reviewALA Rainbow Round Table reviews the paperback as a preschool and public-library family-diversity title.[14]
  5. 2010sChallenge decadeALA includes the title on the 2010-2019 challenged-books list.[4]
  6. 2023Bans reportedAP reports on preschool book bans connected to the book's two-mom/two-dad line.[5]
  7. 2020sBanned-book readingParr's site connects the title to a public banned-book reading with ACLU context.[15]
  8. 2020sClassroom resourceWelcoming Schools keeps the title in inclusive family-learning resources.[6]

Explore Connections

Browse direct links, shared themes, and nearby publication dates.

Linked records

Two-mother landmark

Heather Has Two Mommies

Both titles combine two-mother family recognition with challenge history.

References [4][5]

School-recognition title

Asha’s Mums

Both titles show how classroom settings made two-mother recognition public.

References [6]

Adoptive family comparison

In Our Mothers' House

Both titles normalize family diversity through picture-book form and adoption or mixed family structures.

References [2]

Challenged picture-book peer

And Tango Makes Three

Both are mainstream picture books whose LGBTQ-family recognition drew repeated public challenge.

References [4]

Shared themes

Many kinds of families

Families, a Coloring Book

A Michael Willhoite coloring book that presents many family structures, including two mothers and two fathers.

Many kinds of families

All Families Are Different

A nonfiction activity book that explains many family forms, including families with same-sex parents.

Many kinds of families

When Grown-Ups Fall in Love

A numbered and signed preschool picture book about different adult couples and their children.

Many kinds of families

It's Okay to Be Different

A Todd Parr picture book that places two-mother and two-father families inside a broader early-childhood language of acceptance.

Nearby dates

Published 2003

All Families Are Special

A classroom many-family picture book that includes a child with two mothers among several family forms.

Published 2003

Dis... mamans

A French picture book about a child with two mothers and a school family-tree assignment.

First published 2003; local record dated 2004

Faerie Wars

A Bloomsbury fantasy novel whose family-breakup plot includes Henry's mother and his father's female secretary.

Published 2003

How My Family Came to Be: Daddy, Papa and Me

A small-press picture book about interracial adoption and family formation with two fathers.

Citation

The Family Book. Todd Parr. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2003. Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection, Mechanics' Institute. Collection ID: KB-074.

Showing Plain text citation format.

Sources

Cover image from Todd Parr's publisher page.

  1. Local collection catalog record for The Family Book (autographed by the author with a hand-drawn picture) · catalog
  2. Todd Parr publisher page for The Family Book · publisher
  3. Todd Parr awards page · publisher
  4. ALA challenged books, 2010-2019 · ala
  5. Associated Press on preschool book bans · news
  6. HRC Welcoming Schools lesson resources · education
  7. Open Library record for The Family Book · library
  8. Wikimedia Commons image of Todd Parr · image
  9. Little, Brown record for The Family Book · publisher
  10. PEN America reporting on picture-book access · advocacy
  11. WorldCat record for The Family Book · library
  12. Todd Parr author site · creator
  13. Todd Parr books category page · creator
  14. ALA Rainbow Round Table review of The Family Book · review
  15. Todd Parr page on ACLU/Randall Park reading of The Family Book · creator
  16. WorldCat title search for The Family Book and Todd Parr · library
  17. Open Library work page for The Family Book · library