Asha’s counselor friend asked her for some resources for children to help them deal with their parents’ divorce. So we ended up curating a thread.
Nadya published by Scholastic: 12+ years
Award winning book by Illustrator-author Debasmita Dasgupta, Nadya was on the Parag Honor List. It was shortlisted for Comic Con as well as Neev Lit Fest.
Asha has this book and highly recommends this.
Quoting one of Asha’s friends who has this book:
When I and my husband decided to separate, my 8 yr old did not take it very well wanting the three of us to go back to living together, which was the ideal family situation in her head. She constantly talked about the fun things she and her dad used to do, and suddenly I had become the evil one in the story – the one who had denied her the happily ever after.
I bought Nadya for her, and the book has been instrumental in her healing process. The story took her through the very same emotions she was feeling – blaming me, wanting all of us to be together, wanting to run away from it all. The beauty of the book was that it did this in a very child friendly way, by using vivid illustrations and keeping the text to minimum. Seeing her feelings put into words and pictures, was a cathartic experience for my child, and the beginning of the healing process. The book made her realise some very important things – that her feelings were valid, we understood and accepted her feelings, and that while our lives were changing, we could still make it beautiful.
Asha gave this stunning graphic novel to her teen daughter to read for feedback. After she read it she was kind of speechless. While handing it back to her, she said,
“This is a very powerful book with even more powerful images.”
That’s the impact meaningful books can create.
It can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc affiliate link here. Simply click and type NADYA in the search bar.
I’m Not Butter Chicken: 13+ years (review of title story here)
No one writes on difficult to address topics like Paro Anand – especially for Young Adults. She narrates stories from a teen’s perspective. She gets them. She reminds grown ups what it was like to be a teen. She reminds you how no one understands teens. Asha has this book of short stories which she prescribes FOR EVERY TEEN as well as parent of a teen. The second story ‘Invisible things to look out for’ is on divorce.
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead for 10 years+ (also includes an LGBTQIA+ theme). Asha has this.
When My Parents Forgot How To Be Friends: 8 – 12 years
Divorce Is Not The End Of The World: 8 – 12 years
Blended: 8 – 12 years
Dear Sweet Pea (288 pages)
Cool!: 6 – 12 years
Getting Through My Parents’ Divorce: 5 – 12 years
Divorce Is the Worst: 4 – 12 years
I Don’t Want To Talk About It: 5 – 8 years
Two Homes: 5 – 7 years – this is an award winning picture book for younger kids on divorce. Being a picture book it can also be introduced to 3 years+ after watching the youtube video of the book, of course!
One of our member’s shares a special mention for this book that helped them a lot. It’s a picture book for younger kids with one line per page. Summing it up:
I have two homes, mummas home, papas home, this is my room in mumma’s house, this in papa’s house.. So on… most importantly.. it ended by saying no matter where I am, in which house, both mumma and papa love me. Important thing for a young child to know.
Sometimes Mama, Sometimes Papa: 5+ years – an Indian book by Nandini Nayar. A member who has read this book recommends this for young school going kids who find their home situation different from other children. The book can help parents find the right words to equip their kids who are sometimes asked various questions by other curious young children.
Dinosaurs Divorce: 4 – 8 years
Fred Stays With Me!: 4 – 8 years
The Invisible String: 4 – 8 years – brilliant for counselling.
My Family’s Changing: 4 – 6 years
The Enormous Suitcase for 4-8 years by award winning author Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
This book shows that phase when both parents start living separately and the child spends time at both houses. Each time it shows Kelsy wanting to carry something unusual to the other parent’s house. As her requests become more and more unconventional (from pillows to dogs) her suitcase starts bulging even more. Robert Munsch’s signature storytelling style coupled with the illustrator’s exaggerated illustrations bring out the humour in the situation from the child’s perspective. This story has actually been written for a girl who wrote to the author for a book on living in two homes! It also gently explains that some things in life work out and some things don’t. Brilliant life lesson wrapped in humour.
Standing On My Own Two Feet: 3 – 7 years
The Huge Bag Of Worries: 3 – 5 years
Mom And Dad Glue: 3 – 5 years
Luna Loves Library Day (32 pages) 3-5 years
Many thanks to all of the members who helped in contributing to this very important post.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the book titles & images have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at absolutely no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
