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Child's Books for Coping with Divorce
Grade 1-3 Young children will find reassurance in this realistic but warm story of a divorce told from a young girl's point of view. The story begins on the day that Katie's father moves out and ends months later, after Katie, her mother, and father all have had a chance to adjust to the change in their lives. The sadness, guilt, and confusion typically felt by a child of divorce is honestly portrayed, but so is the unconditional love that both parents continue to feel for Katie. The soft, warm style of Friedman's realistic watercolors in muted colors supports the tone of the story, At Daddy's on Saturdays
K-Gr 4-A beautifully illustrated picture book,The Days of Summer , is about coming to terms with divorce. As summer ends, Nora, a fourth grader, and Jo-Jo, a kindergarten student, are upset when they hear about their maternal grandparents' impending divorce. Nora describes her own feelings as "doleful," a new word she has looked up. When they go to visit Grandma, the girls speak to Grandpa on the phone and make plans to see him. After talking to both grandparents, the sisters begin to adjust. Throughout the story, Bunting sensitively portrays the feelings and needs of all of the family members. The realistic illustrations, created using Photoshop, capture the vibrant colors of late-summer days and convey the closeness of this family. The strong emotions the girls are experiencing are reflected in their facial expressions and in the way they interact with one another.
Grade 1-3 Children familiar with the Browns' Dinosaurs Beware (Atlantic, 1983) and Marc Brown's "Arthur" books (Atlantic) will delight in this new foray into an area of deep concern for the youngest readers. Sympathetic to the full range of feelings that divorce produces, the authors use evocative cartoon dinosaur characters to convey their message. Chapters address such concerns as why parents divorce, what will happen to "me," where will holidays be celebrated, living in two homes, etc. Expressively illustrated with accompanying succinct text, this upbeat, straightforward treatment of a potentially confusing, traumatic childhood experience is comprehensive. Prediction: Dinosaurs Divorce will become a real "security blanket" for those young readers in need.
No one wants to ride The Divorce Express . Especially Phoebe. It means she has to leave her New York City apartment and boyfriend every Sunday night to spend the week in the country with her dad. It means she has to go to ninth grade in a new school, and see her father go on dates. It's a hectic life with hardly any time to feel she really belongs with the kids in either place. Then, just when Phoebe's got a handle on juggling the pieces of her life, her mother makes a decision that will change everything again. And it could be disastrous! "Danziger's light style laced with humor will continue to attract readers."
K-Gr 3-A competent piece of bibliotherapy aimed at helping children of divorce deal with their new, difficult, and conflicting emotions. Told by a young girl whose parents have just told her they are getting a divorce, the narrative then goes through the range of the child's possible emotions, as the adults suggest how she might be feeling. She, in turn, imagines herself to be an animal that would adequately express her emotions. When her father tells her that it's OK to be scared, her response is, "I wanted to be a lion with a roar so loud that everyone would think I was very brave." Assurances of her parents' continued love and that certain family rituals will remain the same make her feel better. Full-page illustrations capably portray the images in the text, especially the metaphors of the animals that the girl uses to express her feelings. I Don't Want to Talk About It concludes with a two-page note to parents suggesting ways to deal with their children's reactions. A worthy and appropriate addition to most parenting collections.
How do you talk to your children about your divorce? How can you best handle their responses? Here's a children's book and parenting tool rolled into one. It's Not Your Fault, Koko Bear: A Read-Together Book for Parents and Young Children During Divorce (Lansky, Vicki) is a picture book designed to be read by parents to their children. Koko Bear's parents are getting a divorce, and Koko, a preschool-aged unisex bear, isn't happy about it. "I don't like this divorce. I don't want two homes," Koko says. Koko Bear's story doesn't minimize kids' pain, but it doesn't wallow in it either. The message is positive: children are reassured that their feelings are natural, that their parents still love and will care for them, and that the divorce is not their fault. At the bottom of each page, there are bullet points for parents that give information and advice about what the kids are going through, and the best way to handle each issue as it arises.
Gr 1-4-This story perfectly captures a child's pain at her parents' separation. Rainie, who wishes that her parents were like loons that mate for life, adjusts to sharing lazy vacation days at a lake with her dad, who assures her that though the family structure has changed, she will always be loved. As the pair watch chicks hatch and grow; as they swim, fish, and pick blueberries, Rainie adjusts to her new circumstances. Life is different without mom present. When she and her father pick blueberries, they eat them right off the bushes instead of saving them to make jam as her mother used to do. As time passes, she wishes that things could be the way they used to be, but she knows that they can't. On the last night at the cottage, Rainie and her dad sit by a campfire and wish on the North Star. Shine's gorgeous spreads capture relaxing moments of summer vacation. Soft, watercolor washes provide a soothing backdrop to Rainie's moodiness and sorrow; bits of cut-paper collage add an intriguing dimension to the illustrations. The father-daughter relationship is beautifully and thoughtfully depicted, so the ending of Loon Summer is a hopeful one.
Grade 4-6AThis upbeat story,Rope Burn takes a fresh approach in dealing with common concerns. For English class, Richard is supposed to "write a composition about a proverb that illustrates something that has happened" to him. As he considers the assignment, he is overwhelmed by the number of proverbs that could apply to his life, which has recently been turned upside down by his parents' divorce and a move to a new house in another part of town. Each chapter is titled with a well-known proverb and subtitled with Richard's explanation of how the saying applies to his circumstances. Through this writing assignment, Siebold gently guides readers through cross-sections of Richard's life as he examines his past and learns to express his feelings. Kids with an eye for detail will notice the graphics at the top of each page that correspond to the chapter headings.
With childlike innocence and humor, a young narrator living with his single father and brother explains divorce and it?s grown-up words ? like ?New Arrangement,? ?Ideal Situation,? and ?Differences? ? from a kid?s point-of-view. Was It the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story For Little Kids About Divorce puts Special emphasis on the fact that divorce is not the child?s fault, that it is a grown-up problem. Deals with practical day-to-day matters such as single-family homes, joint custody, child-care issues, and misunderstandings.
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