From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4This plainspoken text by a psychotherapist and counselor deals with the basic problems and feelings accompanying a divorce and is directed to children and those adults who are helping them confront this traumatic experience. The signs of an impending marital separation; experiences that may occur with divided custody; and common emotions of sorrow, anger, and loneliness are addressed. Questions designed to help youngsters discuss various aspects of their situations are interspersed throughout the narrative. The language is simple and impersonal. Guidelines for adults and names of useful organizations are appended. Pleasant, brightly colored, cartoon-style pictures of varied sizes and shapes show a boy and girl and their parents in various stages of the family breakup and the reconfiguration of their lives. Although psychologically correct, the book lacks the appeal of Laurene Browns Dinosaurs Divorce (Little, Brown, 1986), which is accurate but also gently witty.Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This attractive book, written by a psychotherapist, introduces the idea and process of a divorce, as well as discussing how it often affects the members of the family. While encouraging children to talk about their feelings and reassuring them that their parents will continue to love them, the text does not minimize the changes, difficulties, and pain that come with the territory. Bordered boxes labeled "What about you?" carry questions for parents to ask their children, so kids can relate their own feelings and experiences to those mentioned in the text. On every page, appealing ink-and-watercolor-wash illustrations show one family coping with a divorce. Informative and reassuring, this book will be a good starting place for many families discussing divorce.
Carolyn Phelan
