PreS-Gr 1--This cheerful picture book depicts animals' devotion to their young. The text begins with illustrations of diversity within human families, including same-sex couples and characters with tan skin. Following this spread, Henn discusses creatures in the animal kingdom. Each animal is protective and vigilant in safeguarding their babies' health. Whether one female or two, one male or two, grandmother, siblings, community, or even adoption, Henn explains that what binds the families together is love. The colorful book is charming and sticks to the point. End matter includes brief facts about behavior, physical features, or habitat. A source list or bibliography are not included. Young children who are curious about the nuances in the world around them would benefit from this sweetly told narrative. VERDICT Purchase for collections that need to strengthen their diversity training materials for preschoolers.--Nancy Call, formerly at Santa Cruz P.L., Aptos, CA

There are different kinds of animal families, too? The text is embraced by rainbow-stripe endpapers and a clear message that even though no two families, human or animal, "are quite the same," nevertheless "they all have one thing that's the same…love." Within, each double-page spread highlights a different animal family with two levels of text; one is a general comment ("Here is a family where Mommy looks after the babies"), and the second offers more parenting facts ("Orangutan mommies look after their young longer than any other animal parent, and they do it on their own. They love their babies, very, very much"). Backmatter notes keyed to thumbnail pictures add additional, general information about each animal in the text. Animals as familiar as the clownfish, elephant, and cheetah are included, as are lesser-known animals such as the albatross, long-tailed tit, and emu. In scenes from diverse ecosystems--the Australian Outback, the oceans, North American woodland, and African savanna and desert--mothers, fathers, mother-and-father pairs, large extended families and communities, grandparents, two mothers, and two fathers raise and protect their young offspring. Spread after spread of boldly colored illustrations of a lush rainforest, a glowing coral reef, golden grasslands, and an icy evergreen branch, among others, make this a storytime winner for all seasons. Lovingly reinforces the idea that diverse families are a natural part of our large and diverse world. (Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.