Mum and Dad Glue

Product Information

The illustrations represent how he feels as if his whole word is breaking apart until he finds comfort in the fact that his parents love for him will never break. The book follows the story in a sensitive and soft tone, and would be a perfect read with a child who is experiencing this in their life. Divorce is an unhappy fact that affects many children's lives; parents who are divorcing will value this story that can be read to their children, its message one of comfort to help soothe and make them aware that their parents' separation is in no way their fault. It might be an obvious metaphor, but it perfectly captures the feelings that children might be having, without being melodramatic or scary. We Are Wearing Out The Naughty Step by Mick Inkpen gently touches on issues further down the line, when potential step-families are cropping up.

Essentially, the little boy, who is trying to use an inanimate tool, to fix a very real, tangible problem, comes to find that some things in life you cannot fix. I think this would be a good book to offer children support who’s parents may be/ have split whilst giving other children a sense of empathy. This message is conveyed in a meaningful way whilst being light hearted in the storyline approaching a difficult topic in a sensitive way. Told from the perspective of the boy allows the reader to step into his shoes and experience the emotions he is feeling and empathise with him. This book is written as a poem and tells the story of a little boy whos parents are getting divorced.

It would be a great recommendation to send home, or to read in a smaller, comfortable group, so that children feel they can ask questions, share their response and feelings and talk through these in a trusting environment. The boy in the story thinks that if only he could find some parent glue to stick his mum and dad back together, things might go back to how they were. Every Second Friday by Kiri Lightfoot and Ben Galbraith is another message book about divorce, this time dealing with children getting used to having two different homes. His method for this isn't the usual response though: he looks for glue to stick his mum and dad together. The child's concept of sticking his parents back together with glue is so down to earth and truly places the reader into the mindset of a young person desperate for his mum and dad to stay together.

It shows the boy's discovery that sometimes family dynamics change, and although that can be worrying, his parents' love for him will not change. Most of the time it is not the fault of the kid, most of the time parents just lose their love, or find a new love, or some other reason. I also /loved/ the artistic concept that all the things around the child on each page were broken too. Written in a continuous prose, the story feels like a real steam of consciousness, with all the worries spilling out of the child.The moral of this story is that it is not anyones fault his parents have fallen out of love with each other, and it doesn't mean they have fallen any less out of love with him. This is the kind of book that should have a place in every class, as a teacher will not always know when a child is needing the kind of emotional reassurance it gives.

The illustration powerfully pairs with the text, as everything from buildings, lamp-posts and lunch boxes are broken in two. He's going through the usual emotions that children of divorce go through: worry, feeling unsure, blaming himself, anger, denial, and then trying to get them to stay together. I love how it tackles the emotions they must be feeling in a light hearted manner (rhyming couplets). For my future classroom, I hope to get a copy of this book for children to read if they are ever in the same situation as the main character of this story so that they are able to understand what is happening more.

The heartwarming ending of the realisation that he will still be loved equally by both of his parents, even if they are separated. e. that you need ‘love’ and not ‘parent glue’ is so eloquently put across - Gray reminds us that love is a internalised feeling, that lives inside each and every one of us, and it is this image, this thought, and this emotion, that is able to override any sense of insecurity a child feels that is experiencing their parents going through a divorce.