All in the family. (Booktalk).

Explore what it means to be part of a family, from the littlest to the oldest.

HOME AT LAST

By Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Felipe Davalos. Lee & Low, 2002; 32 pages; $16.95 (Cr. 2-5).

After moving to the United States from Mexico, eight-year-old Ana and her Papa enjoy practicing English together. Mama, busy caring for her twin baby boys and missing her home and family in Mexico, thinks English is impossible. It's not until one of the twins is sick that Mama is persuaded to go to school and learn English along with her supportive family.

ACTIVITY: Read aloud Say Hola to Spanish (Lee & Low, 1996) to show English speakers how challenging but fun a new language can be.

EVERYWHERE BABIES

By Susan Meyers, illustrated by Marla Frazee. Harcourt, 2001; 32 pages; $16 (Gr. PreK-1).

What exactly do babies do? In a rhyming tribute to the adorableness of babies, see how they are loved, dressed, fed, rocked, carried, and how they grow. Frazee's charming pen-and-ink drawings and watercolors depict a multicultural variety of endearing babies on each double-page spread, while each verse starts with the same chantable refrain: "Everyday, everywhere, babies..."

ACTIVITY: Your big kids will have lots of stories to tell about their encounters with babies. They can write about, illustrate, or chart: "The best thing about having a baby in the family is..." or "Facts I know about babies."

BIPPITY BOP BARBERSHOP

By Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Little, Brown, 2002; 32 pages; $15.95 (Gr. PreK-1).

Miles tells about the special trip he and his daddy make to the barbershop one Saturday morning. Miles is going to get his first haircut with Daddy's barber, Mr. Seymour. "Be brave, Little Man," Daddy's friends all advise him. When his turn comes, he tries to be brave, but the clippers are so scary. Daddy saves the day and the two are pleased with their identical haircuts.

ACTIVITY: Ask children: Do you do anything special with your mother or father? Do you remember your first haircut? What hairstyle would you pick? Draw a picture of yourself with your best haircut.

I WAS SO SILLY! BIG KIDS REMEMBER BEING LITTLE

By Marci Curtis. Dial, 2002; 32 pages; $12.99 (Gr. PreK-2).

The author/photographer interviewed and photographed scores of children, ages two to six, who commented on the good and bad things they recall about being babies. The cheerful, often wacky black-and-white hand-tinted snapshots are each captioned with a child's pithy, sometimes hilarious observation or memory.

ACTIVITY: Children will, of course, expect you to ask them what they remember about their own babyhoods, and can ask their patents to recall and share funny tales about when they were little. Ask them to bring in baby pictures to post on the bulletin board so everyone can guess who is who.

ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE

By Chris Van Allsburg. Houghton Mifflin, 2002; 32 pages; $18 (Cr. K-6). Remember at the end of Jumanji (Houghton Muffin, 1981) when the Budwing brothers were picking up that game in the park? Well, after a mere 20 years, Van Allsburg has penned the sequel. In the bottom of the Jumanji box, younger brother Danny finds an outer space game called Zathura, which comes to life at each move and trashes the house. It's not until the two boys start working together as brothers instead of fighting that they can survive the game.

ACTIVITY: Children can design and play their own sibling-based board games, or write another sequel to the book in which they are the players.

A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE 

By Ann M. Martin. Scholastic, 2002; 189 pages; $15.95 (Cr. 6-8). Twelve-year-old Hattie Owen recalls the memorable summer of 1960, when she meets for the first time her 21-year-old mentally disabled uncle, Adam. Loosely diagnosed as autistic or schizophrenic, Adam has been at a special school since he was 12. He's home until Nana and Papa can find another place to send him. Adam is impetuous and manic, fixated on "1 Love Lucy." "No one knows what it is like," he confides to Hattie. She reaches out to him and tries to help him fit in, but must deal with heartbreak and tragedy beyond her control.

ACTIVITY: Adam tells Hattie, "I believe you are one of the people who can lift the comets of our universe." Discuss with students what that means, and how Adam fits that description.

12 AGAIN

By Sue Corbett. Dutton, 2002; 227 pages; $16.99 (Cr. 5-7).

On Labor Day, the day before her 40th birthday, Patrick's mother, Bernadette, heads over to her mother's house for some peace and quiet. Her mother, an Irish woman from the old country who believed in magic and fairies, died six months before. After falling asleep there, Bernadette wakes to find her mother alive again, just as she was when Bernadette was 12. And now Bernadette's 12 again and attending school, leaving behind her husband and three sons, who have no inkling where she has gone. Break out some Irish fairy tales to see where the novel gets its special flavor.

ACTIVITY: Inside Bernadette's mother's house, the year is 1972. Have students gather information from their parents about what their lives were like when they were 12, then write a story incorporating details about the times.

THE BROKEN CAT

By Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, 2002; 32 pages; $15.95 (Gr. K-3).

In a gentle, winsome family tale, Andy, his mom, grandma, and Aunt Cookie are at the vet with their injured gray tabby cat, Frank. While they sit in the waiting room, Andy asks his mom to tell him again about the time she broke her arm in third grade. The women join in reminiscing about how she had to go to the hospital and how she cried and cried at the embarrassment of being "broken." The veterinarian fixes up poor Frank, too, with a bandage around his head.

ACTIVITY: There are two concurrent stories to follow here: Mom's and Frank the cat's. Both will fire up listeners to recall when they or their family pets got hurt and how they got better.

THE SISSY DUCKLING 

By Harvey Fierstein. Simon & Schuster, 2002; 32 pages; $16 (Gr. K-2).

None of the other boy ducklings like to do any of the things Elmer likes, such as painting, baking, and putting on puppet shows, and he is dubbed a sissy. Mom explains: "Sissy is a cruel way of saying that you don't do things the way others think you should." "You are special," she tells Elmer, Still, Papa Duck rejects him, and Elmer runs away, setting up a cozy home in a tree deep in the forest. When Papa is shot during hunting season, it's Elmer who drags him home and nurses him back to health. This book offers a nice message about celebrating what's special and unique about all of us.

ACTIVITY: In spite of the derision from the other ducks, Elmer is proud of his differences. Ask listeners to list and/or draw things that make them unique.

CORALINE

By Neil Gaiman. HarperCollins, 2002; 163 pages; $15.99 (Gr. 5-7).

Coraline has just moved with her parents to an apartment in a big old house. There's a carved wooden door at the far corner of the drawing room that opens onto a brick wall. On a rainy day, Coraline opens that door with its old-fashioned key--and the bricks are gone. Down the dark hall-way is an apartment, just like her own--even the same pictures on the wall. She hears her mother's voice coming from the kitchen. The woman looks like Coraline's mother, only her skin is as white as paper. Her dark red fingernails are curved and sharp. Her eyes are big, black, shiny buttons. "I didn't know I had another mother," says Coraline. "Of course you do," says the other mother, her eyes gleaming. "Everybody does."

ACTIVITY: This is a suspenseful, compelling book for book talks and reading aloud, as listeners root for Coraline. Students can write an essay about their own "real, wonderful, infuriating, glorious" parents.

HOW I BECAME A WRITER AND OGGIE LEARNED TO DRIVE

By Janet Taylor Lisle. Philomel, 2002; 155 pages; $16.99 (Gr. 5-7).

After their dad moves out, 11-year-old aspiring writer Archie and his car-obsessed little brother, Oggie, shuttle back and forth between Saturn (Dad's apartment) to Jupiter (Mom's apartment). Oggie is still reeling from his parents' split, and when neighborhood toughs steal his red wallet, he gets the "yeeks," shivers that go all over his body. It's up to Archie to get that wallet back.

ACTIVITY: Archie's descriptions of his stuffed bunny-toting but brave little brother are rich in detail. Ask your students to observe a younger sibling or friend, taking notes about what they say and do, and then write up a profile that brings their quirks and personalities to light.

JUDY FREEMAN, children's literature consultant and workshop presenter (www.JudyReadsBooks.com), is the author of More Books Kids Will Sit Still For (Libraries Unlimited, 1995) and Hi Ho Libraio! (Rock Hill Press, 1997).