Children's book / half sibling

[GrandmotherWillow]

Hello all,

I'm currently considering writing a children's story book surrounding the topic of extended families (siblings being half siblings and having different parents / grandparents etc) as I struggle to find anything on the market for that same kind of topic.

I am an adult with very younger siblings who struggle to understand why their Mummy is not my Mummy and it's sparked an idea and inspiration!

First of all - I wish to do so research on what your children's favourite books are so I can pop to the library and do a little research in styles of writing. I've got a few favourites of my own but want to be more open minded to other books I may not have come across before!

Secondly - do you feel there are books that cover this sort of topic I speak of already? If so - do you have any recommendations of what they are called please?

This is my first posting on here so any advice or conversation I'm all ears for!

I like My Magic Family, which covers lots of family set ups.

I’ve read quite a few ‘let’s talk to four year olds about diversity’ books, as I’m making sure our own mixed heritage family isn’t seen as odd by my kids.

So many are really, really bad. Heavy handed and badly written.

Concentrate on writing a great book where the characters happen to be half sibs, rather than laying it on thick.

The Donor Conception Network sells picture books explaining to young children how fertility treatment with egg or sperm donors works. It might be worth getting one of those to see how they do it - you can select specific types of donation and treatment. That's if you're thinking of a more factual book that directly addresses the issue.

On the other hand, if you're thinking more of just a story book where the characters just happen to be half siblings, you could look at The Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant and Lydia Correy. It's about a boy who finds his two mums embarrassing because they're pirates, do the fact that they're also lesbians and he only looks like one of them is treated as purely incidental detail.

Pretty much anything written by Jacqueline Wilson covers different family set ups.