Amazon Category:  Children Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN-10:  1987524497 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 28 Copyright: April 3, 2018 ISBN-13: 9781987524499 Picture book about family diversity Excerpt Not all families are the same. Each family is different, unique and special. This is the beginning of a children's book about family diversity. What types of families are there? And what special thing makes them a family? These are some of the answers we want to offer to encourage tolerance towards others.

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Not all families are alike. There are as many different types of families as there are colors, shapes, and sizes in a handful of buttons. This is the basis of A Handful of Buttons, a picture book about family diversity by Carmen Parets Luque. The illustrations are a combination of child-like stick figures creatively infused with a variety of life-like buttons that make up the faces within the drawing. Both written and illustrated by Luque, the book helps young children to see that while families may be comprised in a variety of ways, at the heart of each individual family is the child, loved every bit as much as children from families that may appear more traditional. It's an excellent entry for young readers who are starting to become aware of diversity and the world at large.

A Handful of Buttons by Carmen Parets Luque is an enjoyable read, and made a particular splash when my teenage step-daughter read it at bedtime with a preschool aged child. I particularly loved how Luque incorporates biracial families, adoption, and children who have same sex parents. This colorful picture book is inclusive for all readers as each one should be able to find a dynamic they can associate with in the story, as well as the make-up of different families they might see when spending time at a friend's house, or seeing another child being picked up from school. I'd absolutely recommend this book to parents, teachers, and librarians who are looking for a unique way to introduce children to modern families.

Review by: Emily Seefeldt for Diverse Children's Literature Book Reviews
A Handful of Buttons is a picture book about family diversity. This is a short picture book but fantastic in its content. This book through illustrations using different colored buttons and its text depicts all the different people that can make up a family and that all families share the common thread of love. This book covers all types of families from single parents, to divorced parents with separate houses, to same sex parents, to big families and multigenerational families and everything in between. Its overwhelming message is that all families love and each family is different, unique and special.

I would recommend this book to primary grades just based on the text level and the illustrations. It's a wonderful book to spark discussion about family diversity and that all families are beautiful and unique. It would be a great read for the beginning of the year as students are getting to know each other and could be extended into an illustration or paper about who makes up their own