Family Potluck

Family Potluck
by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by Putut Putri
Published by Home Style Teachers
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$20.00 ISBN 9781778152931

Sixteen smiling, digitally-produced characters—including an infant in arms, a bespeckled elder, a girl in a wheelchair and a visually-impaired, non-Caucasian boy—surround a potluck-ready table on the cover of Ashley Vercammen’s children’s book, Family Potluck. Without reading a word of the story, I’m already applauding the author’s inclusive definition of “family”. I soon learn that the purple backpack-wearing main character is the daughter of a teacher, and the potluck will take place at school. The unnamed girl’s grandma and cousin will also attend in this the-more-the-merrier story for young readers.

The book’s format will appeal to children who may be overwhelmed with large blocks of text and “too much happening” in the illustration department. This story unfolds across full-spread illustrations, each with a celery-green background for consistency, and large font text on just the left side of the page. The illustrations are simple and pleasant. The green chalkboard is wiped clean, there are no toys or other hazards on the floor, and there’s little else to draw the eye away from the characters themselves.

First we meet a student named Bowen and his mother, Tracy, who “makes the best cabbage rolls”. Turn the page and there’s Caleb “and his dads,” along with a new baby sister. Before long the look-alike Jackson family arrives: seven children, Grandpa Harry, and Uncle Joseph, as well. More culturally diverse students arrive with their potluck offerings filling the long, draped tables.

Vercammen frequently presents a cast of diverse characters enjoying themselves in communal situations, and it’s what she does best. The Saskatchewan instructor, writer and publisher (of this book and books by other writers) says she “enjoys writing books with the aim to engage both English as an Additional Language Learners, and Native-English speakers”.

The adult-child relationships in Family Potluck extend to “Judy and her nanny” and “Naja’s stepmom” (who barbecues kabobs). Soon the classroom’s joyfully filled with twenty people across the age, culture and ability spectrums. The spirit of community is evident, and everyone—except the one child with closed eyes and a walking stick—is bright-eyed and smiling. Fittingly, the purple backpack-wearing girl seen at the start gets the last word, and the last page: her face appears in a circle beside this text: “What does your family look like? What would you bring to the potluck?” The large white space beneath and the white page opposite invite little booklovers to draw their own family and food items.

This book could become a treasured keepsake item within a family, with siblings and/or successive generations adding their own drawings to the book. With its emphases on community and diversity, it would also be a welcome addition to elementary school libraries.

This glossy softcover is just one bright example of how Vercamman weaves a positive message—ie: we can all be friends, even if we look differently—into her stories for young children. To learn more about this industrious author—who also offers readings and one-on-one English classes—and Home Style Teachers, see ashley-vercammen.ca..

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM