I’m looking for some queer-family-affirmative books for Christmas/ Solstice presents for the kids, and kept coming across The Family Book by Todd Parr, aiming to show the wonderful diversity of families. Amazon’s Look Inside feature reveals the first page here: while families may take many forms, all families like to hug each other.

As a middle-class British person, I’d like to lay a formal objection to that. And, more seriously, it’s hard enough to grow up in a family where affection isn’t often overt or physical without being told it’s actually not a family at all.

But also, it’s interesting what writers think are crucial things that families have in common, and are thus the key things to represent in an “our queer families are just like your non-queer families” book. “Do they work? Do they play? Do they cook? Do they cough?”, indeed.

I’ll post reviews when I’ve got the books, but in the meantime, buy One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dad, Blue Dads (from which the above quote comes), because that’s just excellent.