APPENDIX B
PRINT AND NONPRINT RESOURCES NOVELS WITH FAMILY THEMES
The following novels are fine sources of selections for analysis and discussion.
A Man in Full Tom Wolfe
A River Runs Through It Norman Maclean
A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley
Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt
Handle with Care Jodi Picoult
House of the Spirits Isabel Allende
Kate Vaiden Reynolds Price
Like Water for Chocolate Laura Esquirel
My Sister’s Keeper Jodi Picoult
The Corrections Jonathan Franzen
The Emperor of Ocean Park Stephen L. Carter
The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy
The Hours M. Cunningham
The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros
FILMS WITH FAMILY THEMES
You may use clips of films in class or ask students to watch films as a preparation for
class. (e.g. When a Man Loves a Woman is valuable for discussion of stress in alcoholic
families.) You may develop an assignment that requires students to identify theoretical
concepts within the films narrative and explore how theories or concepts operate within
the film.
Changes Impacting the Family
A River Runs Through It
American Beauty
I Don’t Know How She Does It
It’s Complicated
Juno
Lymelife
The Thing About My Folks
Traumatic Events in the Family
A River Runs Through It
Beloved
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
The Deep End of the Ocean
The Hours
The Horse Whisperer
The Ice Storm
What Dreams May Come
Sleepless in Seattle
Traffic
When a Man Loves a Woman
Changing Family Forms
Big Daddy
Daddy Day Care
Donor Unknown
My Girl
Racing with the Moon
Secrets and Lies
Stepmom
The Blind Side
The Kids are Alright
Yours, Mine, and Ours
Intercultural Themes
A Walk in the Clouds
Benny and Joan
In the Name of the Father
Jungle Fever
The Brothers McMullen
The Color Purple
The Joy Luck Club
The Other Sister
Witness
The Help
Relational Change
A Thousand Acres
Big Fish
Everybody’s Fine
Parenthood
Rachel Getting Married
Stories We Tell
Sunshine Cleaners
The Family Stone
TV Shows Depicting Family Communication
American Horror Story
Arrested Development
Boy Meets World
Breaking Bad
Brothers and Sisters
Grey’s Anatomy
Home Improvement
Lie to Me
Little House on the Prairie
Mad About You
Silver Spoons
Sixteen and Pregnant
Sopranos
Step-by-Step
Switched at Birth
Teen Mom
That 70s Show
The Fosters
The Hughleys