Customer Reviews

The Not So Wicked Stepmother, A Book for Children and Adults

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I am a step-mother who is the luckiest woman on earth! I enjoy true love with my step-daughter, but have always been aware of the many pitfalls of being a step-parent. This book, The Not So Wicked Stepmother, A Book for Children and Adults, addresses all the most immediate reactions of a child facing the upheaval of "two" homes, parental dating, and how everything got so "weird". It helps that the author herself has literal experience with the dynamic, and it shows. The books shows the harshest changes a divorce can create - Dad moving out, the "new" home which must be created for him to share with his children, and all the feelings of anxiety that can visit children; how to sleep at night in a strange place, belongings split between two residences, etc. When Dad starts to explore a new social life with female companions, each step is explored in the most heartfelt, and comic, way. There is a very realistic ending that shows happiness and acceptance to new life and new loves.

Most children react suspiciously to strangers these days, none the least of which, may actually become a part of your family! I would recommend this book for Dad's to read to their children BEFORE the dating process has begun, and if possible, before leaving the home they share with their children. My husband and I searched high and low for a book as entertaining, realistic and sympathetic to new beginnings as this one, and wish we had found it sooner. The illustrations will keep your children's attention even when the text hits uncomfortably close to home. My step-daughter was seven when she got this book and it is still one of her favorites. She loves me to read it to her before bedtime, and laughs at the antics of the daughters in the story. I sincerely hope the author writes additional books exploring the subject. This book is worth your purchase - I doubt you will be disappointed.

I have a background in early childhood education. When my husband and I decided to get married, I wanted to get his then 6 year old daughter a book about stepmothers. I know from experience that this is one of the best ways to introduce kids to ideas. However, I went to the library... typed in "stepmother"... and all I got were books like Cinderella, Snow White, etc where stepmothers were evil and the villians. After doing A LOT of research, I came across this book. Although the illustrations aren't the best, it definitely is FINALLY a book that explains what happens when "dad decides to marry" and how stepmothers can be a loving and kind new member of the family. My stepdaughter and I read it together and she liked it a lot. I think it's a great book!