Florence and her fantastic family tree

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Title :

Florence and her fantastic family tree / by Judy Gilliam ; illustrations by Laura Addari.

Title:

Florence and her fantastic family tree

Author:

Gilliam, Judy

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm

Edition:

First edition.

ISBN:

9781641702508

Production / Publication Information:

[Sanger, California] : Familius LLC, [2020]

Summary:

Everyone has a family tree, no matter how big or small. But what happens when mine has more than just the roots, trunk, and branches' I've got six parents (yes, six'you can count with me and see) and enough siblings to take up almost all of my fingers. Will this piece of paper, with the stems, branches, leaves, trunk, berries, and nuts of the great, big, loud, colorful, fun, crazy family I call mine, even fit on Ms. Collin's wall at school' Florence and Her Fantastic Family Tree explores the idea of what it means to have a big, messy, complicated, and remarkable family as a young girl tries to complete her family tree assignment for school. With adorable drawings and the succinct words of a child, you can't help but love your own family tree, no matter how large or small, simple or chaotic.

Language:

English

Added Author:

Addari, Laura

Genre:

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Families -- Juvenile fiction.

Genealogy -- Juvenile fiction.

Schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	JE GIL	31330008909826	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	E/GIL	33934004319779	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	E GILLIA	32116003752108	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	E/GILLIAM	31482002964552	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library	JE GIL	32121000856209	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	J A GILLIAM	39965002482999	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	J-ER GIL	31548003315877	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	JP PEOPLE FAMILY GIL	31478003616258	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	JJ GIL	32132003215996	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Topsfield Town Library	JJ GILLIAM	32133002528546	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	E/GILLI	32137002117655	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	E GILLIAM	31990005049783	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Everyone has a family tree, no matter how big or small. But what happens when mine has more than just the roots, trunk, and branches? I've got six parents (yes, six--you can count with me and see) and enough siblings to take up almost all of my fingers. Will this piece of paper, with the stems, branches, leaves, trunk, berries, and nuts of the great, big, loud, colorful, fun, crazy family I call mine, even fit on Ms. Collin's wall at school?

Florence and Her Fantastic Family Tree explores the idea of what it means to have a big, messy, complicated, and remarkable blended family as a young girl tries to complete her family tree assignment for school. With adorable drawings and the succinct words of a child, you can't help but love your own family tree, no matter how large or small, simple or chaotic, traditional or unique.

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2--A family tree sounds like a pretty simple school assignment, but nothing could be further from the truth for a little girl named Florence. Unlike the other students, Florence doesn't have just a mother, father, and sibling or two; it is much more complicated than that. She has parents, siblings, stepparents, half-brothers, an adopted half-sister, and more. She is overwhelmed by the homework and how to approach it, and whether her tree will fit on the classroom wall. The more worried Florence gets, the larger the tree in her head becomes, even snaking its way into her bedroom windows. Eventually, she embraces the assignment with multiple sheets of paper and lots of colored pencils. She realizes that her family might not be simple or easy to describe, but she loves being in the middle of her "great, big, loud, colorful, fun, crazy family." The next day, a much jollier Florence presents her tree at school. VERDICT There is no normal when it comes to families, and most collections would benefit from having this on hand.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph P.L., MI

Kirkus Review

A child in a large, blended family worries about a family-tree assignment. Florence's narration clearly conveys her anxiety when her teacher tells the class to "just create a family tree." Florence's family once included only her mom, dad, and brother (who, like Florence, appear White in Addari's muted, low-contrast illustrations), but not anymore. She explains that her parents divorced and remarried, after which new siblings, including an adoptive sibling who appears Asian, enter the fold. Some readers may balk at the frequent, unquestioning use of the term "half-brothers" to refer to Florence's siblings (who seem to be children of color) born to her father and his wife and "half-sister" to refer to the child her mother and her second husband adopted, since it can be seen as diminishing sibling relationships. Undiminished, however, are stepparent roles. When Florence's dad divorces his second wife and they both remarry, Florence affirms her connection to her first stepmother by sharing whom she remarries. "If you're still counting, that's six parents," says Florence, still trying to complete her assignment. The solution is just to make an enormous tree that uses up lots of paper and takes up lots of classroom wall space. It's an anticlimactic, if affirming, conclusion that frustratingly leaves open the question of whether any of Florence's classmates had similar concerns about the assignment. A needed topic but not a fantastic treatment, title notwithstanding. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.