Just Like My Family

by Ashley Molesso, Chess Needham

Overview

Celebrate all types of families in this inclusive picture book that breaks down gender stereotypes while offering aspirational messages to young readers.

Whether a child wears pearls just like their daddy, grills with their mommy, braids hair like their baba, bakes yummy treats with their grandpa, sashays like their zaza, dresses up like their bibi, or decorates their room like their brothers, all families love spending time together! Delight in all that makes a family unique and special—including what makes you you—in this empowering and affirming picture book by the author-illustrator team and queer stationery company, Ash + Chess. BONUS: includes one sheet of vibrant, colorful, celebratory stickers!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762486359
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ash + Chess is a stationery & gift company run by queer and trans couple Ashley Molesso (she/her) and Chess Needham (he/him), based in Upstate New York. They create greeting cards, art prints, and more in bold, retro color palettes, often using their artwork to uplift the queer community. Their company made its debut at the National Stationery Show in May 2017, and since then over 700+ retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia sell their art and stationery. In the short time they've been in business, Ash + Chess have worked on many collaborations including artwork for Target, Smartfood, Skittles, Nooworks, Belletrist, Plaza Style, Brooklyn Roasting Co., Transfigure Print Co., HarperCollins, Workman Publishing, Running Press Studio, Macy's STORY, and more. They are the authors of multiple publications, including: The Gay Agenda: A Modern Queer History & Handbook (Morrow Gift) 2020; Queer Tarot: An Inclusive Deck and Guidebook  (RP Studio) 2022; My Queer Year Guided Journal (RP Studio) 2022; ABC-Deconstructing Gender (RP Kids) 2023, and The Big Book of Queer Stickers (RP Studio) 2023.

Editorial Reviews

04/29/2024

Complete with a disco ball and floral backgrounds, groovy, eye-catching art lends a cheerful retro vibe to this simple but effective ode to intersectionally diverse families. On each page, previous collaborators Molesso and Needham (ABC-Deconstructing Gender) show a child participating in an activity with a loved one, accompanied by a sentence that relays how the child addresses them. On one spread, “I like to wear pearls just like my daddy.// I like to sashay around the room just like my zaza,” while elsewhere, “I like to bake treats for my friends just like my grandpa.// I like to dress up all pretty just like my bibi.” Across activities and individuals, bright colors, lopsided shapes, and wiggly arms convey the happiness each duo feels in communing with loved ones. It’s a straightforward look at how close-knit, nonjudgmental support systems ensure that “I like to be myself just like... me!” Characters are portrayed with a variety of abilities, body types, gender presentations, and skin tones. Ages 4–8. (May)

Publishers Weekly

With a neon palette, this title affirms families in all their diverse splendor beyond the binaries, religious conventions, and expectations that the world has created… reminiscent of Todd Parr’s The Family Book but with an even more expansive representation of family, genders, and roles. Celebrating families who are 'wonderfully different' with gusto, this title will be appreciated by a wide spectrum of readers and their families seeking to live their lives to the fullest expression of their true selves.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“Groovy eye-catching art lends a cheerful retro vibe to this simple but effective ode to intersectionally diverse families…it’s a straightforward look at how close-knit, nonjudgmental support systems ensure that ‘I like to be myself just like... me!’”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher