The Un-Wedding [Hardcover]

Babette Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 1998 | Age Level: 6 and up

From the creator of the hilarious Dr. Dog and Drop Dead and the refreshing Mummy Laid an Egg  comes a lighthearted yet helpful introduction to the difficult topic of divorce for children. Demetrius and Paula Ogglebutt have problem parents who never agree about anything and play childish tricks on each other. After calling a meeting at school for anyone with problem parents, the beleaguered brother and sister discover they are far from alone. Join Demetrius and Paula as they orchestrate the perfect solution for their bickering parents, proving that divorce can be a good thing for all concerned--not least of all the kids.  

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cole is not the shy type. Her Drop Dead cheerfully explored mortality, and her Bad Good Manners Book took a dubious view of etiquette. This picture book, whose cover shows a boy and girl slicing a black-frosted wedding cake down the middle, tells readers that certain couples are happier apart. "Demetrius and Paula Ogglebutt were two perfectly beautiful children... but... they had two problem parents who could never agree about anything." Diagrams of the family manor, offering peeks into every window, show crazy in-laws, odd pets and dissimilar artistic tastes inspiring ugly fights. Inside the Ogglebutt estate, the Mr. and Mrs. glare at one another down a long supper table and devise cruel pranks ("She hid a present from one of his cows in his cap! And he boiled her underwear until it shrank!"). The blond and angelic Paula and Demetrius blame themselves. But when they call a meeting at school for "anyone with problem parents," a horde arrives. Cole reassures her audience that adults sometimes act "like five-year-olds." Yet her giddy response, an "un-wedding" performed by an agreeable minister and followed by "separate un-honeymoons," does not adequately solve the Ogglebutts' dilemma. In a fanciful finale, the siblings build side-by-side houses for their parents, "connected by a secret tunnel." Such a solution works metaphorically, but Cole denies the worry and confusion that attend separation. She never once uses the word "divorce." Ages 6-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3ACole utilizes her usual irreverent humor to create an entertaining spoof on a serious situation. Demetrius and Paula are concerned about Dad and Mum, who are constantly bickering and intolerant of one another's odd habits, interests, and opinions. When they start playing cruel jokes on each other, Paula asks their minister to un-marry them. With the full support of the two adults, the children plan an un-wedding that culminates in separate un-honeymoons. While they're gone, the children bulldoze the house and build separate ones to accommodate each parent's taste. The children now have two of everything, and the parents live "happily ever afterAapart." The British influence is apparent in the vocabulary and the setting, but it won't be at all intimidating to young readers. The exaggerated illustrations are done in pen and ink and muted watercolors and are well matched to the absurd situation.AChristina Dorr, Calcium Primary School, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (April 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679888985
• ISBN-13: 978-0679888987
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,729,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny and helpful, October 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Un-Wedding (Hardcover)

My three and a half year old has wanted to read this book every day since I bought it. Although Paula and Demetrius's parents aren't the same as my ex and I, reading about other children with "problem parents" seems to have helped my daughter talk about and release some of her feelings about our divorce. She's pointed out how we're different to the Ogglebutts and laughed at them. This book is completely non-judgemental. It tells everything from the children's point of view and shows how they're stuck in the middle and that its *not* their fault. And it's hilarious.

The book is also available in some countries as "Two of Everything".

I wish there were more kids' stories about divorce and children with two homes.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous, gentle look at how divorce can be a good thing., June 16, 1999

By 

Laura Haggarty (Northern KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Un-Wedding (Hardcover)

This book is another of Babette Cole's great ones. In it she tells the story of how two children go through the process of their parent's "un-marriage", and come out the other side with everyone still ok and things better than they were before. It would be a gentle way to explain to children that divorce is NOT their fault, but in most cases is just that the parents, who may still love each other, just need to live different lives. The book is spiced up with Cole's usual terrific illustrations, as well as cute text. A must-have for any family contemplating this kind of step, or any Cole fan.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Un Wedding Babette Cole, March 31, 2011

By 

esmestone - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Un-Wedding (Hardcover)

My daughter bought this book back from her school library coincidently (or maybe not!) just as myself and my partner have decided to split up. There has been no acrimony or arguments in our household so our situation is entirely different to the Ogglebutts.

I was surprised to read such vehemently negative comments from reviewers. I think it is a funny book written to give children hope. Divorce or separation can be a good alternative to two parents who are dragging the family through an unpleasant, abusive living situation. I take on board some of the objections that it is not entirely realistic and that it does depict both of the parents as mercenary, shallow fools, but what it does do well is it gives children the hope that they can have 2 happy parents living separately rather than a miserable, rowing couple living under one roof.

Clearly some of the reviewers have strong religious perspectives that have influenced their opinions. As a product of divorced parents myself, I can honestly say I knew of many children growing up, who lived miserable lives with horribly unhappy married parents who were far more traumatised and scared by that situation than I was from mine.

I would definitely recommend this book within a mix of several others to add balance to the child's understanding of the break down of relationships. Ultimately, it remains the parents responsibility to manage the child's understanding and to explain the situation with honesty and clarity.