Books that positively reflect non-nuclear/non-traditional families and lifestyles

[AnarchyHeart]

Myself and DD (5.9) are a single parent family with an 'unconventional' lifestyle, and I thought I'd start a thread for book suggestions

I know there's lots out there for older/teenage readers, but I'm after books that don't make an 'issue' out of things, just portray them as normal/positive.

One of our favourites is The House That Grew by Jean Strathdee - about a young girl, her mother, and their friend, who build themselves a home just right for their family.

Crummy Mummy And Me by Anne Fine is good too, though more for older children.

You might like Jacquelinge Wilson, I gave some of hers ago with dd but stopped when we reached the Illustrated Mum as I found the themes really rather adult considering the age group aimed at.

I'm not so sure about JW - have read The Illustrated Mum and thought it was, as you say, a bit too much for the age group its aimed at. Maybe I should look again at her books for younger readers.

Mainly I'm after books for younger age groups - picture books and story books, rather than chapter books with Issues.

We have a few picture books that only feature one parent with the child

Big Bear, Little Bear is a lovely story about a mummy and a baby polar bear - I tell DS that it is me and him in the story.

So is "kiss goodnight Sam" (but the mummy is MRS bear in that one so presumably there is a Daddy bear lurking somewhere )

Will think of the others

The visitors who came to stay?

Burglar Bill by the Ahlbergs - does end up with a traditional style family but it starts off with Bill the single burglar finding an abandoned baby - who turned out to be the child of the widowed burglar Betty.......

You could think about the classics too - in lots of childrens books parents are largely or totally absent - Swallows and Amazons? The Secret Garden? Tom's Midnight Garden?

Oooh and Children of the New Forest as well!

Pippi Longstocking is a no-parent family with a distinctively unconventional lifestyle.

Are you after single-parent families specifically, or alternative family structures in general (e.g. two mothers/two fathers/blended families/kibbutzim)

The Little Bear books by Martin Waddell are beautiful and have a big bear (who I think is little bear's father but I'm not certain that its gender is ever specified) and a little bear living together in a cave. Good for about 3 up I would say

The Harry and the Dinosaur books have no dad and a live-in Grandma.

The Allan Ahlberg Happy Families books have a variety of families - divorced/divorcing/blended etc

Little Bear does just live with his Daddy

Gruffalo's Child only has a daddy too, now I think of it.

Pippi is one of our favourites - DD is very of Mr Nelson.

I quite like Helpers by Shirley Hughes - only mentions a mother, and mainly features a male carer.

We are a single parent family, but I'm after any ideas for books with other alternative set-ups - communal living, blended families, same sex parents, etc.

Some ideas (although these are towards the picture book end of the spectrum so some might be a bit young for your DD)

The Different Dragon (This bedtime story about bedtime stories shows how the wonderful care and curiosity of a little boy, with some help from his willing moms, can lead to magical and unexpected places. Join Noah and his cat, Diva, on this nighttime adventure and you too will leave with an unforgettable new dragon friend!)

And Tango Makes Three (based on a true story about penguins in Central Park Zoo)

King & King (When the queen insists that the prince get married and take over as king, the search for a suitable mate does not turn out as expected) (There's also a sequel, King & King & Family)

Flying Free (Narrated by a firefly captured by a five-year-old girl named Violet. Violet plans to use the firefly as her very own nightlight. Her mothers go along with the idea, but the firefly refuses to live in a glass jar. After several attempts, the firefly devises the ultimate escape plan... what will her fate be?)

The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans And Other Stories

Mini Mia and her Darling Uncle (Mia has to come to terms with her jealousy)

Chicken Man (set on an old-fashioned kibbutz; a communal children's house features)

Actually, a surprising number of traditional classics have children in non-nuclear families.
start with Peter Rabbit!

Just thought of Danny the Champion of the World, him & his dad in their caravan - definitely my favourite Roald Dahl.