The Best Children’s Books About Family

“What are the best Children’s books about Families?” We looked at 246 of the top Kids Family books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 27 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Children’s Family” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 200+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

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Top 27 Best Children’s Books About Families

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27 .) A Family Is A Family Is A Family written by Sara O’Leary

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Multicultural Childrens Book Day

When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby

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26 .) Fred Stays With Me! written by Nancy Coffelt

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Multicultural Childrens Book Day

A child describes how she lives sometimes with her mother and sometimes with her father, but her dog is her constant companion.

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25 .) I Wished for You: An Adoption Story written by Marianne Richmond

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101

A mama bear and her little boy bear talk about how they became a family because of the mother’s wish.

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24 .) It’s Okay To Be Different written by Todd Parr

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Hachette Book Group

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23 .) Love is a Family written by Roma Downey

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Read Brightly

Chicken Little and her friends hurry to tell the king that the sky is falling.

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22 .) Me and My Family Tree written by Joan Sweeney, Annette Cable (Illustrator)

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Pre Kinders

Using a family tree, a child explains how her brother, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are related to her.

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21 .) More, More, More Said the Baby written by Vera B. Williams

Lists It Appears On:

• Colours Of Us
• Multicultural Childrens Book Day

Three babies are caught up in the air and given loving attention by a father, grandmother, and mother.

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20 .) Real Sisters Pretend written by Megan Dowd Lambert

Lists It Appears On:

• Colours Of Us
• Multicultural Childrens Book Day

Safe in the knowledge that adoption has made them “forever family,” stepsisters Mia and Tayja improvise an imaginary adventure with a joyful homecoming to a real home with their two moms.

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19 .) Shopping with Dad written by Matt Harvey and Miriam Latimer

Lists It Appears On:

• Colours Of Us
• The Barefoot Mommy

A little girl and her father have a wonderful time in the grocery store until she nearly knocks over a display, then while trying her best to be good she lets out a big sneeze that results in chaos.

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18 .) The Different Dragon written by Jennifer Bryan and Danamarie Hosler

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Metro

A bedtime story takes Noah on an amazing journey with his cat, where they meet a dragon who doesn’t want to be scary and fierce.

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17 .) The Great Big Book of Families written by Mary Hoffman

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101

Features illustrations and descriptions of different types of families and how their lives are similar and different.

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16 .) The Little Red Fort written by Brenda Maier

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• PA Book

In this adaptation of the Little Red Hen fable, Ruby wants to build a fort, but her three brothers refuse to help, so when the fort is finished Ruby will not let them join her–until the boys come up with a few embellishments for the fort, like a mailbox, a garden, and a fresh coat of paint.…

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15 .) Thunder Boy Jr. written by Sherman Alexie, Illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Hachette Book Group

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14 .) Who’s In a Family written by Robert Skutch

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101

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13 .) And Tango Makes Three written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Books For Keeps
• Read Brightly

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12 .) In Our Mothers’ House written by Patricia Polacco

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Colours Of Us

Three young children experience the joys and challenges of being raised by two mothers.

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11 .) Mixed Me! written by Taye Diggs and Shane W. Evans

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Colours Of Us
• The Barefoot Mommy

Told in rhyming text, Mike is a mixed-race boy, completely comfortable with his identity and his parents–and his wild, curly hair.

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10 .) Mommy, Mama, And Me written by Leslea Newman and Carol Thompson

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Metro
• The Barefoot Mommy

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9 .) Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale written by Karen Katz

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Read Brightly
• The Barefoot Mommy

A loving couple dream of a baby born far away and know that this is the baby they have been waiting to adopt.

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8 .) Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born written by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Read Brightly

A young girl asks her parents to tell her again the cherished family story of her birth and adoption.

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7 .) Who’s in My Family: Let’s Talk About Our Families written by Robie H. Harris

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Colours Of Us

Nellie and her little brother Gus discuss all kinds of families during a day at the zoo and dinner at home with their relatives afterwards.

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6 .) Heather Has Two Mommies written by Leslea Newman

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Multicultural Childrens Book Day
• Read Brightly

When Heather goes to playgroup, at first she feels bad because she has two mothers and no father, but then she learns that there are lots of different kinds of families and the most important thing is that all the people love each other.

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5 .) One Family written by George Shannon and Blanca Gómez

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Colours Of Us
• The Barefoot Mommy

A family can be many things, in this story that introduces numbered groups from one to ten.

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4 .) Stella Brings the Family written by Miriam Schiffer and Holly Clifton-Brown

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Multicultural Childrens Book Day
• The Barefoot Mommy

Stella brings her two fathers to school to celebrate Mother’s Day.

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3 .) The Family Book written by Todd Parr

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Books For Keeps
• Childhood 101
• Metro

Represents a variety of families, some big and some small, some with only one parent and some with two moms or dads, some quiet and some noisy, but all alike in some ways and special no matter what.

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2 .) Two Homes written by Claire Masurel and Kady MacDonald Denton

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Read Brightly
• The Barefoot Mommy

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1 .) Families, Families, Families! written by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang

Lists It Appears On:

• Book Riot
• Childhood 101
• Goodreads
• Hachette Book Group
• The Barefoot Mommy

A host of animals portrays all kinds of non-traditional families

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The 200+ Additional Best Kids Books About Families

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#	Books	Authors	Lists
28	15 Things Not to Do with a Baby		Colours Of Us
29	A Beach Tail	Karen Lynn Williams	Goodreads
30	A Big Mooncake for Little Star		PA Book
31	A Brave Bear	Sean Taylor	Goodreads
32	A Day with Dad	Bo R. Holmberg and Eva Eriksson	The Barefoot Mommy
33	A is for Activist	Innosanto Nagara	Hachette Book Group
34	A Tale of Two Daddies		Childhood 101
35	A Welcome Song for Baby		Colours Of Us
36	ABC A Family Alphabet Book	Bobbie Combs	Book Riot
37	Alanda and The Frog Prince		Colours Of Us
38	All About Adoption: How Families Are Made & How Kids Feel About It		Childhood 101
39	All About Families		Childhood 101
40	All Bears Need Love		Read Brightly
41	All Kids of Families		Childhood 101
42	All Kinds Of Families!	Mary Ann Hoberman, Illustrated by Marc Boutavant	Hachette Book Group
43	Amber Brown is Not a Crayon	Paula Danziger	Barnes And Noble
44	An African Princess		Colours Of Us
45	Anna Hibiscus’ Song		Colours Of Us
46	Ask Me	Bernard Waber and Suzy Lee	Barnes And Noble
47	Away	Emil Sher	Goodreads
48	Baby Goes to Market	Atinuke	Goodreads
49	Baby’s First Words	Christiane Engel	The Barefoot Mommy
50	Barefoot Books Children of the World	Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma, and David Dean	The Barefoot Mommy
51	Bedtime for Mommy	Amy Krouse Rosenthal	Goodreads
52	Big Red Lollipop	Rukhsana Khan	Goodreads
53	Billy and Belle		Colours Of Us
54	black is brown is tan		Colours Of Us
55	Black, White, Just Right!		Colours Of Us
56	Blackout	John Rocco	Goodreads
57	Bonjour, Lonnie		Colours Of Us
58	Boundless Grace	Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch	The Barefoot Mommy
59	Brave	Stacy McAnulty, Illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff	Hachette Book Group
60	Brianna Bright, Ballerina Knight	Pam Calvert	Goodreads
61	Brown Like Me		Colours Of Us
62	Bumpety, Dunkety, Thumpety-Thump!	K.L. Going	Goodreads
63	Bunny Cakes		Pre Kinders
64	Bye-Bye, Baby!	Richard T. Morris	Goodreads
65	Chloe	Peter McCarty	Goodreads
66	Chyna’s Doll		Colours Of Us
67	Cinnamon Baby		Colours Of Us
68	City Shapes	Diana Murray, Illustrated by Bryan Collier	Hachette Book Group
69	Counting On Community	Innosanto Nagara	Hachette Book Group
70	Daddy, Dada, And Me	Leslea Newman and Carol Thompson	Metro
71	Darth Vader and Son	Jeffrey Brown	Barnes And Noble
72	Dave’s Cave		PA Book
73	Dear Mr. Henshaw	Beverly Cleary	Barnes And Noble
74	Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families		Read Brightly
75	Do I Have a Daddy?		Read Brightly
76	Do Like a Duck Does!	Judy Hindley	Goodreads
77	Do You Sing Twinkle?: A Story About Remarriage and New Family	Sandra Levins	Book Riot
78	Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?		Pre Kinders
79	Dogger	Shirley Hughes	The Guardian
80	Drawn Together	Minh Lê	Goodreads
81	Duck, Duck, Dinosaur	Kallie George	Goodreads
82	Dumpling Soup		Colours Of Us
83	Eddie’s Kitchen: and how to make good things to eat		Books For Keeps
84	Ella and the Knot Fairies		Colours Of Us
85	Elmer	David McKee	Metro
86	Emily’s Blue Period		Read Brightly
87	Ernest and Celestine	Gabrielle Vincent	The Guardian
88	Everywhere Babies		Multicultural Childrens Book Day
89	Families Around the World		Childhood 101
90	Family		Colours Of Us
91	Festival of Colors	Kabir Sehgal	Goodreads
92	Floating on Mama’s Song/Flotando En La Cancion de Mama	Laura Lacamara	Goodreads
93	Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories		PA Book
94	Froggy’s Baby Sister		Pre Kinders
95	Froggy’s Day with Dad		Pre Kinders
96	Full, Full, Full of Love		Pre Kinders
97	Fussy Freya		Colours Of Us
98	Gaston		Pre Kinders
99	Gem		Colours Of Us
100	Give Thank You A Try	James Patterson	Hachette Book Group
101	Goldilocks and the Three Bears		Pre Kinders
102	Good Dog		PA Book
103	Goodnight Everyone	Chris Haughton	Goodreads
104	Grace and Family		Books For Keeps
105	Gracias / Thanks		Colours Of Us
106	Grandpa Green	Lane Smith	Goodreads
107	GreenBean: True Blue Family	Elizabeth Blake	Book Riot
108	Hello, Door		PA Book
109	Henry Wants More!		Colours Of Us
110	Home at Last	Vera B. Williams and Chris Raschka	The Barefoot Mommy
111	Hope		Colours Of Us
112	Horton Hatches the Egg	Dr. Seuss	Barnes And Noble
113	How My Parents Learned to Eat		Colours Of Us
114	Huff & Puff	Claudia Rueda	Goodreads
115	I am Flippish!		Colours Of Us
116	I Am Me		Colours Of Us
117	I Am Mixed		Colours Of Us
118	I Love Saturdays y domingos		Colours Of Us
119	I Love You Like Crazy Cakes	Rose A. Lewis and Jane Dyer	Barnes And Noble
120	If I Had a Dragon	Tom Ellery	Goodreads
121	If I Had a Hundred Mummies		Books For Keeps
122	Islandborn	Junot Díaz	Goodreads
123	Itsy Mitsy Runs Away	Elanna Allen	Goodreads
124	Jalapeno Bagels		Colours Of Us
125	Jonathan and His Mommy		Pre Kinders
126	Josh and Jaz Have Three Mums		Books For Keeps
127	Julián Is a Mermaid	Jessica Love	Goodreads
128	Just Like Daddy	Frank Asch	Goodreads
129	Knuffle Bunny		Pre Kinders
130	Koala Lou		Pre Kinders
131	La Familia Cool: El tesoro más valioso		Colours Of Us
132	Ladder to the Moon		Colours Of Us
133	Last Stop on Market Street	Matt de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson	Hachette Book Group
134	Less Than Half, More Than Whole		Colours Of Us
135	Let’s Feed the Ducks		Colours Of Us
136	Let’s Go See Papá!	Lawrence Schimel and Alba Marina Rivera	The Barefoot Mommy
137	Let’s Go to Bed		Colours Of Us
138	Let’s Go To Playgroup		Colours Of Us
139	Let’s Have Fun		Colours Of Us
140	Liliana’s Grandmothers		Colours Of Us
141	Little Elliot, Big Family	Mike Curato	Goodreads
142	Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush’s Incredible Journey	Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes, Illustrated by Sue Cornelison	Hachette Book Group
143	Love Monster and the Scary Something	Rachel Bright	Goodreads
144	Love the World	Todd Parr	Hachette Book Group
145	Made for Me	Zack Bush	Goodreads
146	Maple & Willow Apart	Lori Nichols	Goodreads
147	Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match		Colours Of Us
148	Maybe Days: A Book for Children in Foster Care	Jennifer Wilgocki, Marcia Kahn Wright, and Alissa Imre Geis	The Barefoot Mommy
149	Mirror		Books For Keeps
150	Mitzi Tulane: What’s That Smell?		Colours Of Us
151	Mommy, Was Your Tummy Big?	Carolina Nadel	Book Riot
152	Morris’s Disappearing Bag	Rosemary Wells	The Guardian
153	Motherbridge of Love	Josée Masse	The Barefoot Mommy
154	Mouse Tales	Arnold Lobel	The Guardian
155	Mr and Mrs Pig’s Evening Out	Mary Rayner	The Guardian
156	My Abuelita	Tony Johnston	Goodreads
157	My Brother Charlie	Holly Robinson Peete	Goodreads
158	My Family, Your Family		Childhood 101
159	My Family: Love and Care, Give and Share		Childhood 101
160	My Father Knows the Names of Things	Jane Yolen	Goodreads
161	My Mom Is a Foreigner, But Not to Me		Colours Of Us
162	My Two Grandads		Colours Of Us
163	My Two Grannies		Colours Of Us
164	My Very Own Space	Pippa Goodhart, Illustrated by Rebecca Crane	Hachette Book Group
165	Ned the Knitting Pirate	Diana Murray	Goodreads
166	Night Job		PA Book
167	Ocean Meets Sky	Terry Fan	Goodreads
168	Oh My, Oh No!	Lisa Charrier, Illustrated by Agnes Domergue	Hachette Book Group
169	Oh, Oh, Baby Boy!		Colours Of Us
170	Okilélé	Claude Ponti	Goodreads
171	Olu’s Dream		Colours Of Us
172	One Word from Sophia		Colours Of Us
173	Orlando the Marmalade Cat books	Kathleen	The Guardian
174	Oscar’s Half Birthday		Colours Of Us
175	Papá and Me	Arthur Dorros	Goodreads
176	Pecan Pie Baby		Multicultural Childrens Book Day
177	Peepo	Janet and Allan Ahlberg	The Guardian
178	People Don’t Bite People	Lisa Wheeler	Goodreads
179	Perfectly Norman	Tom Percival	Goodreads
180	Picnic in the Park		Books For Keeps
181	Please, Baby, Please		Pre Kinders
182	Raising You Alone	Warren Hanson	Book Riot
183	Roar: A Dinosaur Tour		PA Book
184	Rock and Roll Highway: The Robbie Robertson Story		Colours Of Us
185	Russell Wrestles the Relatives	Cindy Chambers Johnson	Goodreads
186	Sammy Goes Flying		Colours Of Us
187	Saturday Is Swimming Day		PA Book
188	Scacciabua	Émile Jadoul	Goodreads
189	Silver Shoes		Colours Of Us
190	Snowflakes		Colours Of Us
191	Something Smells!		PA Book
192	Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas: Not Mommys and Daddys	Gayle Byrne	Book Riot
193	Spork		Colours Of Us
194	Still a Family		Pre Kinders
195	Strictly No Elephants	Lisa Mantchev, Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo	Hachette Book Group
196	Super Saurus and the Egg	Deborah Underwood	Goodreads
197	Sweetest Kulu	Celina Kalluk	Goodreads
198	Tad and Dad	David Ezra Stein	Goodreads
199	Tango Makes Three	Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell and Henry Cole	Metro
200	Teddy’s Favorite Toy		PA Book
201	Ten Tiny Tickles		Colours Of Us
202	The Airport Book		Colours Of Us
203	The Book Depository		Childhood 101
204	The Boss Baby	Marla Frazee	Goodreads
205	The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage		Colours Of Us
206	The Case of the Missing Chalk Drawings		PA Book
207	The Favorite Daughter	Allen Say	The Barefoot Mommy
208	The Hello, Goodbye Window		Colours Of Us
209	The Invisible String	Patrice Karst	Barnes And Noble
210	The Kissing Hand	Audrey Penn, Ruth E. Harper, and Nancy M. Leak	Barnes And Noble
211	The Moomin books	Tove Jansson	The Guardian
212	The Most Valuable Treasure		Colours Of Us
213	The Napping House		Pre Kinders
214	The Princess and the Pony		Colours Of Us
215	The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade	Julia Roberts, Illustrated by Christian Robinson	Hachette Book Group
216	The Snow Angel	Glenn Beck	Goodreads
217	The Tale of Peter Rabbit	Beatrix Potter	The Guardian
218	The Visitors Who Came to Stay		Books For Keeps
219	The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption	Jean Davies Okimoto and Meilo So	Book Riot
220	Through My Window		Colours Of Us
221	Twenty Yawns		Colours Of Us
222	Two Dads: A book about adoption		Colours Of Us
223	Two Is Enough	Jannie Matthies	Book Riot
224	Two Mrs. Gibsons		Colours Of Us
225	Violet		Colours Of Us
226	Visiting Day	Jacqueline Woodson	Book Riot
227	Wait	Antoinette Portis	Goodreads
228	Wait and See		Colours Of Us
229	Waiting for Baby		Colours Of Us
230	Waiting for May		Colours Of Us
231	Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story for Little Kids About Divorce	Sandra Levins and Bryan Langdo	Barnes And Noble
232	We Are Family		Childhood 101
233	We Belong Together		Childhood 101
234	Welcome Home Little Baby		Colours Of Us
235	What a Family		Colours Of Us
236	What is a Family?	Tamia Sheldon	Book Riot
237	What’s in There?		Colours Of Us
238	Wheels on the Bus	Jerry Smath	Goodreads
239	When Otis Courted Mama	Kathi Appelt and Jill McElmurry	The Barefoot Mommy
240	Where The Wild Things Are	Maurice Sendak	The Guardian
241	Where’s Lenny?		Colours Of Us
242	Who Eats Orange?		PA Book
243	Wolfie the Bunny		Pre Kinders
244	Yes, I’m Adopted!		Childhood 101
245	You Are My Wish Come True	Marianne Richmond	Barnes And Noble
246	You Were the First		Colours Of Us

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14 Best Non-traditional Family Children’s Book Sources/Lists

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Source	Article
Barnes And Noble	10 Great Books About Single-Parent Families
Book Riot	There’s No Wrong Way: 30 Children’s Books About Non-Traditional
Books For Keeps	Ten of the Best: picture books valuing children’s diverse families
Childhood 101	25 Fabulous Picture Books About Families of All Shapes & Sizes
Colours Of Us	50+ Picture Books about Mixed Race Families
Goodreads	Popular Picture Book Family Books
Hachette Book Group	15 Picture Books about Community, Respect & Love
Metro	5 of the best children’s books for kids in LGBT families
Multicultural Childrens Book Day	Eight Picture Books with Diverse Family Constellations & 3 Book …
PA Book	A Baker’s Dozen: The Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy
Pre Kinders	Books about Families for Pre-K
Read Brightly	Ain’t Nothing But a Family Thing: Books About All Kinds of Families
The Barefoot Mommy	What is family? Picture books about loving families in many forms
The Guardian	Jessica Ahlberg’s top 10 family-themed picture books