My Parents' Divorce

Children's Literature - Wendy M. Smith-D'Arezzo

Part of Smart Apple Media's "How Can I Deal with…" series, the book portrays the pain of divorce from the perspectives of the parents, the child, the child's friend, and a mediator. Each three-page section begins with a brief third-person introduction, which is followed by first-person narratives from various perspectives. Each section ends with suggestions for what the child can do to make the situation more tenable, as well as short narratives of what action was taken by the child. Because of the brevity of each section, the solutions are necessarily short and generic. Most include encouraging children to talk to their parents, their friends or another adult. The text is accompanied by realistic photographs of children, their friends and their parents. Both genders are represented equally, and families of various ethnic and racial backgrounds are shown. While this book may be useful for starting conversations, there is little depth to the situations or the suggestions. The reading level is appropriate for second and third grade children to read the book on their own, but the context and the subject matter are such that they would benefit more if they shared this book with a counselor or a parent. The endnotes include a glossary, a list of references and an index, as well as notes for parents, caregivers and teachers. Reviewer: Wendy M. Smith-D'Arezzo