Top 5 Kids’ Books About Divorce
When parents decide to divorce, their immediate focus tends to be on the details of their separation and the impending legal processes, which include making arrangements for day-to-day living, negotiating for proper support, and agreeing on and arranging for the division of property. And although the physical care and custody of any children of the marriage is often uppermost in most parents’ minds, the psychological well-being of the children can often get temporarily overlooked.
Here are some of the best books – aimed at the children themselves – that can help them deal with this difficult period:
1. When Mom And Dad Divorce
by Emily Menendez-Aponte and R. W. Alley (Jul 21 2006)
This book, which is available both in paperback and for download on Kindle, is written in a warm and reassuring tone, and is filled with comforting messages designed to help kids understand that they are not alone. It also emphasizes the point that the future will be alright – even if it is different from what they are accustomed to.
2. Two Homes
by Claire Masurel and Kady MacDonald Denton (Jul 14 2003)
Written in a positive and matter-of-fact tone, this book has a unique slant on divorce from a kid’s point of view, by focusing on what might be gained in the process rather than lost. It underlines the benefits to children of having two loving homes, each with their own environments and advantages.
3. Dinosaurs Divorce
by Marc Brown and Laurie Krasny Brown (Sep 1 1998)
This book is written for very young children, and features lively cartoon illustrations to help convey upbeat but straightforward information about why parents divorce, how living arrangements will change, what it means to have step-parents, and whether and how to tell friends.
4. The Suitcase Kid
by Jacqueline Wilson and Vicky Ireland (Nov 9 2010)
This book, available in paperback, hardcover, audiobook, and for Kindle, tells the fictional story of Andy West, a 10-year-old girl whose parents decide to divorce. Now that they have both remarried, Andy finds herself living out of her suitcase as she is shuttled back and forth between two houses, each of which feature new routines and new family members (in the form of step-parents and step-siblings). The book illustrates many important issues that plague the children of divorce, including an intense longing for the way things used to be.
5. What In The World Do You Do When Your Parent Divorce?: A Survival Guide for Kids
by Kent Winchester and Roberta Beyer (Mar 7 2007)
With its unusual question-and-answer format, this book sensitively answers those questions that kids have about divorce: what it is, why it happens, the logistics of living arrangements, and how to deal with the strong and confusing emotions that arise for those kids who find themselves in these scenarios. It is available in both paperback and for Kindle.
