Me, in the Middle by Annette Demetriou & Angela Mayers

Me, in the Middle is a fabulous celebration of diversity in all forms. Focussing on a class family tree project it shows the diversity of today’s family structures and enables children from different cultures, adoptive families, single parent families, large families, small families and families with single sex parents to see themselves in a beautifully illustrated, heartwarming picture book.

The Story: When Miss Clark asks Georgie to stand on a map to show the country that her parents come from Georgie doesn’t know where to choose – her dad is from Africa but her mum is from England. She becomes even more worried when she has to create a family tree for homework. 

But during her research with Mum and Dad and her presentation to the class Georgie embraces the joy of being in the middle of two cultures. And when the class share family dishes at a picnic in the park and relate the different trees they see to their own family structures Georgie celebrates the fact that her and her classmates are all different but the same in many ways.

Me, in the Middle takes a gentle look at the fact that we shouldn’t judge a person by the colour of their skin. It shows children that wherever we come from and whatever our family structure looks like we are all rooted in the same earth – just like a tree.

Angela Mayers’ beautiful Illustrations complement the text perfectly. We love the representation of such a diverse class and the way that Miss Clark brings them all together whilst acknowledging their differences.

Me, in the Middle would be a great book to stimulate conversations about different family structures and cultures in the classroom. Teachers could follow Miss Clark’s brilliant lesson and encourage the creation of family trees and the sharing of family foods from different cultures.

Age Range: 3+

Author: Annette Demetriou / Illustrator: Angela Mayers

Thank you Owlet Press for sending a review copy of this fabulous story. As a diverse family it’s lovely to see so many family structures and cultures celebrated in a picture book 🙂