I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much (School & Library Binding)

by Judith Vigna (Author) "For Christmas, Daddy made me a sled..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 A Christmas fiasco paves the way for young Lisa to share her feelings and frustrations about the duality of her alcoholic father's behavior, its immediate effect on their holiday celebration, and the long-term effects on her family as well. Skillfully interwoven is family friend Mrs. Field, a recovering alcoholic herself, who provides a somewhat happy ending to a relatively disappointing day. Vigna's familiar pastel watercolor washes provide a soft and gentle vehicle for depiction of both action and emotion. Although Kevin Kenny's Sometimes My Mom Drinks Too Much (Raintree, 1980) is the closest book in terms of target group, Vigna still reaches a younger audience in her brevity of text and emotional scope. A note to adults that provides insight into the child's feelings and tips for parents in assisting their child's understanding of the situation is appended. Addresses and telephone numbers are listed for Al-Anon and the Children of Alcoholics Foundation. This title is best placed in a parenting collection to facilitate and encourage sharing situations. A realistic portrayal that provides a balanced picture of the sober and alcoholic parent and an early primary age child trying to make sense of it all. Celia A. Huffman, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Ohio
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
After a disappointing Christmas, Lisa learns ways to deal with her father's alcoholism with the help of her mother and an older friend.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• School & Library Binding: 40 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company; 1 edition (July 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807535230
• ISBN-13: 978-0807535233
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,472,838 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm but no-nonsense look at alcohol in the family, May 31, 2001

By	Carol Watkins "Psychiatrist" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much (An Albert Whitman Prairie Book) (Paperback)

A girl and her mother deal with the father's drinking during Christmas. The father builds his daughter a beautiful handmade sled, but is then too drunk to keep his promise to go sledding with her. Mother and daughter take theri Christmas turkey to the home of an older woman who is a recovering alcoholic. This woman provides them with a safe haven of understanding and acceptance. She acknowleges the hurt, but encourages the child to find ways to be happy even while her father continues to drink.

The story could help the child of an alcoholic understand that it is not the child's fault.

At the back of the book is information and a phone number for Alanon.

Carol E. Watkins, M.D.

15 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is dangerous!, July 12, 2002

By	Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much (An Albert Whitman Prairie Book) (Paperback)

(0 star review)

Happened across this book in the library, and I thought I'd put in a few words against it, since it's doubtless highly recommended among books to help kids "cope" with alcoholism in the family; that is, if your idea of teaching children to cope is training them to accept their fate, bury it in euphemism, and move on from one depressing day of abuse to another in the shadow of what this book seeks to excuse as a sickness.

The father in this book is typically horrendous, lying and near-abusing his daughter, yet the non-alcoholic mother insists on keeping her child in this situation, breaking down in tears rather than offering a beacon of safety in what must be the poor child's hopeless world.

True, this book is realistic. Yet I cannot imagine any parent or counsellor offering it to a child, since it doesn't offer any real advice besides
a) alcoholism is something to be ashamed of (the girl says she used to not have anyone she could talk to about her father, but now her mother has one friend she CAN confide in)
b) feel free to get out for an evening of fun before returning to the same bad situation.

Yuck, yuck and double-yuck. I'm all for building a body of fiction to help kids cope with issues, but this is a nasty addition to the bunch and could destroy more than a few already-fragile kids...

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much, June 4, 2009

By	Linda D. Merritt "Linda" (Richmond, Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much (An Albert Whitman Prairie Book) (Paperback)

If there is a parent with small children and they are dealing with an alcohol problem this book is very well done.
Great book with excellent illustrations. This was read to a 4 year old who understood the pictures and the words. They paraphased some pages as we read relating to their situation. It helped the child realize this was a disease that they had no control over and they did not create the situation. Short read and to the point. Highly recommended.