From Publishers Weekly
A comfort to children who "go back and forth," Schotter's (Captain Snap and the Children of Vinegar Lane) thoughtfully conceived story addresses the anxieties of very young children living under joint custody arrangements. Kara, reluctant to leave Papa's house for Mama's, leaves her stuffed rabbit with Papa as a way of coping with the hard good-bye. At Mama's house, though, she finds herself missing Rabbit. Kara's parents are on good terms, and they rush to reassure her. "Mama phones Papa. Papa brings Rabbit." Heading back to Papa's, the same thing happens again; Rabbit gets left behind as a symbol of Kara's reluctance to leave, only to be retrieved when there is "too much missing!" "Where do I live?" Rabbit whispers into Kara's ear. It's a question Kara wonders about, too. " `In my house sometimes,' Mama says. `In my house sometimes,' Papa says. `But wherever you are, you are always in our hearts,' Mama tells her." Throughout, little ditties Kara sings with each parent counterpoint the more somber theme ("Late or early, straight or curly, Noodle! Our favorite foodle!" Kara and Papa sing). Moore (the Stinky Face books) contributes endearing, soft-toned watercolor vignettes and full-page pictures in her customary, slightly stylized manner, joining Schotter in portraying both parents as responsible and affectionate, and their two households as equally loving. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2--A book about the effect of divorce on a child, illustrated with warm, soft watercolors. "When Kara goes to Papa's house, she and Papa eat noodles. Oodles of noodles!-Kara always brings Rabbit.-Together with Papa, they sing their noodle song." The song is painted in a cheerful blue arc over a picture of Kara, Rabbit, and Papa parading to the table with a huge bowl of spaghetti. On the opposite page, father and daughter seriously slurp pasta, their heads close together. When it's time to return to Mama's house, Kara is happy and also sad. She leaves Rabbit with Papa. The child is happy to be with her mother, but she misses Rabbit, and her father returns him. When it's time to go back to his house, she leaves her toy with her mother. Of course, she misses him, and he is returned to her. Finally, she tells him, "From now on, you will stay with me and go wherever I go. Otherwise, there will be too much missing!" While children may only indirectly understand that Kara no longer needs to leave her stuffed animal behind as an assurance that her parent won't forget her, they will appreciate the playful, cozy atmospheres of the two different but very loving and noncompetitive homes. For young children dealing with divorce-and their parents-this book is a winner.
Susan Weitz, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca, NYCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
