Customer Reviews

Mom and Dad Don't Live Together Anymore

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I found this an extremely dull and stilted story with no sense of humour or appreciation of a child's wit at all. It read like a school book with its clinical political correctness. If you're looking for a picture book about divorce for young kids I would recommend a book like Babette Cole's The Un-Wedding (also published as "Two of Everything") or Emily Haughton's Rainy Day. Cole's book is full of humour and yet deals with serious issues - my 4 y.o. wanted me to read it for her again and again in the months after the separation. Haughton's book is more dreamy and has a double meaning that appeals more to me than to my 4 y.o. but has a far higher quality than this book.

If I were to read only one book in the whole world, I would choose "Mom and Dad Don't Live Together Anymore". I was a teenager when my parents divorced, and I felt devestated, like my heart was being ripped in half. I first read this book when I was in my late twenties. I felt so much healing from reading this book, the words on the page allowed me to cry and know that it was o.k. Then towards the end of the book the author gives you a positive way to think and act about your feelings. This book is truely inspirational and has changed my life

I guess the point of this book was to get kids to identify with the lead character, know that their feelings around divorce are not unique, and help them to discuss how they are feeling. While it may succeed in those aims (if those were the aims), it manages to paint a rather bleak and depressing picture, and just made our family feel sad with very little positive to focus on. To give you an idea, the final words of the book are: "My mommy and my daddy love me too. Just not together."

Why would the new and old editions of this book - with different illustrators - get exactly the same reviews?
Despite the depressing subject the new illustrations in the 2007 edition lifts the book from dark and serious to a level of optimistism and joie de vivre lacking in the previous one.
The message is the same and very relevant - even more so now than when it was first published.
Living "two lives", one with each parent, does not have to be depressing and negative. This new version brings that message across very clearly.

The book deals with such a serious topic, and I love that it does not pretend to make parents' divorce fun, as every child clearly knows it is not. It is real, but the new illustrations just lighten the mood and feel of the book. I highly recommend it for all families going through separation/divorce. It is aimed at younger children, but even older ones will benefit from this one.

For anyone reading these reviews please be aware of what kind of a person this author is.


My 7 year old daughter flew by herself for the first time from her biological fathers summer visit. The author of this book was apparently sitting next to her. When my daughter arrived at the airport she informed me that this women discussed her situation with her. We discovered her card for family therapy in my daughter's backpack with this book written on the back. What kind of a person tries to get business this way. My daughter informed her that she could not accept anything from strangers (as she is supposed to). The author told her it was ok because of who she was. These actions put a very sick feeling in my stomach.

This author is equivalent to an ambulance chasing attorney. I am not saying "don't by the book" , I have not read it and I will not. Please don't support this author in anyway.....