Stella Brings the Family

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer Illustrations by Holly Clifton- Brown

Overview: Stella's teacher is hosting a Mothers Day party for her class and each student is allowed to bring a special guest. Stella is worried on who she will be inviting since she doesn't have a mom, she has two dads. Her friends try to help her come up with solutions and she decides she is bringing her whole family.

Target Audience: Students with lgbtq parents.

Reading Level (according to amazon.com):

Age Range 5-8 years

Lexile Measure N/A

Overall Rating 30/32 (based on rubric above):

-The reason the book received a 2/4 in relatability is because unfortunately, not many students are exposed to the reality of our world. One of those realities is the LGBTQ community. Thankfully, society has become more accepting (although I am sure there is a lot more battles to fight) and its very common to see families with LGBTQ members. 

-I rated the book 4/4 in diversity mainly because of the LGBTQ parents mentioned in the book but also because it showed diversity in the rest of the characters in the book. Something that particularly stuck out to me was that one of the students in Stella's class mentions that they will be bringing their grandmother to the mothers day party because the mom was away, which leaves space for students who may be in a similar situation where there mom works a lot, is in jail or just simply isn't as involved in the child's life.

-All of the images and language used in the book was appropriate for K-5 students and to the LGBTQ topic and community. Which is why the book received a 4/4 in appropriateness.

Literary Elements:

-Mood

-Conflict

-Point of view: third person omniscient

 Schiffer, M. B., & Clifton-Brown, H. (2015). Stella Brings the Family. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books LLC.