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Summary
Summary
For young children who live in two homes, this bright, simple story with oversized flaps reassures young readers that there is love in each one.
Her parents don't live together anymore, so sometimes the child in this book lives with her mom and cat, and sometimes with Dad. Her bedroom looks a little different in each house, and she keeps some toys in one place and some in another. But her favorite toys she takes with her wherever she goes. In an inviting lift-the-flap format saturated with colorful illustrations, Melanie Walsh visits the changes in routine that are familiar to many children whose parents live apart, but whose love and involvement remain as constant as ever.
Author Notes
Melanie Walsh is the author-illustrator of Trick or Treat?, 10 Things I Can Do to Help My World, and many other books for children. She lives in England.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Walsh addresses divorce from a playful angle in this interactive story with smudgy, inviting pictures that resemble finger-painting. Large flaps compare and contrast the time a sandy-haired girl spends with each of her parents. A turn of a flap turns her yellow-walled bedroom at her mother's house into her florally decorated bedroom at her father's apartment. Her father takes her camping, her mom takes her to a farm, and when she is in a school play, both are sitting in the audience. The bright acrylics underscore the love in the girl's life, as does an extended family photo album in the final pages. Ages 3-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Children with divorced parents often lead bifurcated lives, and Walshs ingenious lift-the-flap book acknowledges this common situation in a wel- coming, straightforward manner. "My mom and dad dont live together any-more. So sometimes I live here, with my mom and my cat in our house with the pink door," explains the little girl narrator, first pictured smiling out a window of her cozy-looking brick home. Lift up the front of the house, and there she is again, peering out from an equally inviting high-rise: "Sometimes I live with my dad in our apartment at the top of the building!" On each spread, Walshs cheery, childlike paintings morph, via flaps, from yellow bedroom walls to flowered ones, from a panda nightlight to a string of glowing plastic butterflies. She also gracefully addresses post-divorce changes in birthday celebrations -- a cake from Mom, bowling with Dad -- and afterschool routines; i.e., Mom used to be the only one to pick up the girl from school, but heres Dad waiting behind the purple schoolyard gate because "now my mom and dad take turns." Of course no arrangement is perfect, and sometimes the girl misses the absent parent, but luckily the remedy is only a reassuring phone conversation -- and a flap lift -- away. christine m. heppermann(c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In this inviting lift-the-flap book, a young girl describes her life spent with parents who live apart. The opening spread explains she sometimes lives in a brick house with her mom and cat; lifting the flap reveals an apartment building where she lives on the top floor with Dad. Later spreads detail her bedrooms, night-lights, and toys and portray weekend activities, birthday celebrations, and special events her parents both attend separately. The final spread addresses how she copes with missing the absent parent (phone calls), and the back endpapers include a lift-the-flap photo album of her extended family. Walsh's brightly colored artwork (printed on heavy stock) features simple shapes and bold backgrounds well integrated into the story. The direct, first-person narrative conveys much in its simplicity but mostly reassurance that even imperfect situations can work for the child with loving, involved parents. Pair with Claire Masurel's Two Homes (2001) or Nancy Coffelt's Fred Stays with Me (2007), two other titles that provide a positive look a difficult situation.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-A little girl's parents have separated, so she lives with her mom at her house and also stays with her dad at his apartment. As she describes her life in both homes, oversize lift-the-flaps show the differences. She has a bedroom in each household, but they are decorated differently, with a panda night-light in one and butterfly lights in the other. She has toys in both places, but it's okay to take her favorites wherever she goes. Her parents take turns picking her up from school and they provide different activities on the weekends and for special occasions. And if she's at one parent's house and misses the other, it's okay to talk on the phone. At the conclusion of the similarities in routine, the youngster knows that her parents love her, and there are pictures of her extended family members, who love her, too. Bold, clear acrylic art mixed with collage is simple and childlike, while the flap on each spread lovingly supports differences and provides enjoyment. Children who live in two separate homes can gain a sense of security from this attractive, reassuring book.-Janet Weber, Tigard Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Her parents may be divorced, but this little girl's family is anything but broken. Sometimes she lives with her mom, and sometimes with her dad, and clever lift-the-flap design juxtaposes how things are in one home versus the other. On her birthday, the girl's mother makes a cake, and the flap lifts to show her dad taking her bowling. Another spread reads, "Sometimes my dad takes me camping on the weekend" and the flap lifts to reveal that sometimes her mom takes her "to see the animals at the farm." Other pages show joint activities--both parents attend a school play, and both are included in a photo album that the girl can look at if she misses one of them. This last point firmly situates the family's co-parenting arrangement on the side of the child, as does the fact that she freely brings favorite toys between homes. Despite this laudable content and its charming, simple, acrylic illustrations, the book lacks careful pacing. It begins and ends on the endpapers, resulting in a cramped feeling, and culminates in a rushed ending with pictures of friends and family who also love the little girl. Even with this misgiving, this is a necessary and accessible treatment of a common family constellation. Recommended for children of divorce and for others seeking to understand diverse family structures. (Picture book. 2-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.