Hi!

I’m Claire the pink adoring author who likes to smash stereotypes and write from the heart.  I’m a proper word nerd and love reading and writing in all shapes and sizes – and that’s just me, not the books!

I live in the Highlands of Scotland with Mr Chapter Two, our cats Banana and Princess, our sheep, Gertie and Norah, as well as 6 chickens affectionately known as ‘The Girls’.

Between us we have lots of kids, ranging from the youngest at 9, to the oldest at almost 34. The youngest ‘The Boy Who Brings Joy’ has just spent a week with us in Scotland and it got me thinking about the diversity of families and how that is to be celebrated.

When Mr Chapter Two and I first got together, we described our families and our life as ‘mending and blending’.  In the mixing pot were his 5 children and heartache from divorce, my 2 children, 1 grandchild and my grief from widowhood. Oh, and a foster son, as together we became accidental foster parents (that’s another blog in itself!)

So, thinking about families and my love of books, I thought I would share with you a couple of my favourites that show the diversity of families and the wonderful unique people that make up those families.

First up Where Are We Going by Vie Portland.  Vie is one of my favourite independent authors and human beings.  This book follows Emily and her mum as they take a magical journey home.  Emily is disabled and has a prosthetic leg, but the book isn’t about that.  Emily’s mum is a single parent, but the book isn’t about that either!

You can find this and other resources by Vie here.

https://www.vieness.co.uk/shop

I also love The Family Book by Todd Parr, the simplistic statements and vibrant pictures support the key message that families come in many varieties. Through the repetitive phrases ‘some families… and all families…’, the book clearly shows our differences are to be celebrated, and that whatever our differences there will be some similarities too, things like love, grief and strength happen in all families.

You can find it here on my bookshop.org account.  I love Bookshop.org as they support independent bookshops.

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4552/9780316070409

And then of course there is Uncle Jasmine by little old me.  Due to be released during Non-Binary Awareness Week, 8-14^th July, this book features a family member who is gender fluid and what a wonderful influence they are in the life of their niece.  If you want to know more and find out how the launch is going you can sign up here.

https://mailchi.mp/3ae6a4316dec/5wh3xwx5uf

I’d love to know if you have any favourite books about families. Anyway, enough from me.  Enjoy whatever you are reading or writing.

Claire