Product Description

"Parents looking for a book about separation or divorce will find few offerings as positive, matter-of-fact, or child-centered as this one. . . . Simple, yet profoundly satisfying. - BOOKLIST (starred review)

At Mommy’s house, Alex has a soft chair. At Daddy’s house, Alex has a rocking chair. In each home, Alex also has a special bedroom and lots of friends to play with. But whether Alex is with Mommy or with Daddy, one thing always stays the same - Alex is loved. The gently reassuring text focuses on what is gained rather than what is lost when parents divorce, while the sensitive illustrations, depicting two unique homes in all their small details, firmly establish Alex’s place in both of them. TWO HOMES will help children - and parents - embrace even the most difficult of changes with an open and optimistic heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11364 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-14
• Released on: 2003-07-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780763619848
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
reS-Gr 1-Young Alex's parents are divorced, and he spends time with each of them. He has two rooms, two favorite chairs, two sets of friends, two of everything. He loves both of them no matter where he is, and they love him, no matter where they are. The ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are comforting and warm. There is no sign of the child missing one parent when he is with the other or questioning his situation, and he seems quite well adjusted. This book is clearly intended to help parents tell their children that they are still loved despite their living arrangements. For a different view of how children may feel about sharing two homes, look to Judith Caseley's Priscilla Twice (Greenwillow, 1995).

Holly Belli, Bergen County Cooperative Library System, West Caldwell, NJ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Ages 2-5. Young Alex introduces himself and his parents, then announces that he has two homes: sometimes he lives with Daddy (in a suburban house) and sometimes with Mommy (in a city apartment). The discussion of his two homes sets up the book's comfortable dual structure: "I have two rooms. My room at Daddy's. My room at Mommy's . . . I have two bathrooms. I have a toothbrush at Daddy's. I have a toothbrush at Mommy's." Each spread includes complementary pictures that show the boy engaged in similar activities at both locales. The ending affirms that his parents love Alex, no matter where he is and no matter where they are. Within the ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are delightful reproductions of Alex's own paintings. Other scenes, warm with luminous washes against white backgrounds, celebrate the everyday details of Alex's life. Parents looking for a book about separation or divorce will find few offerings as positive, matter-of-fact, or child-centered as this one. With a sure sense of audience, Masurel concentrates on the physical and emotional fundamentals that matter to children while deftly sidestepping the adult-oriented swamp of explanation and supposition. Enhanced by Denton's sensitively drawn portrayals of the characters within well-imagined scenes of domestic life, this picture book will validate the experience of other two-household children while intriguing those in single-home families. Simple, yet profoundly satisfying. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Claire Masurel is the author of numerous books for children, including TOO BIG, illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama. TWO HOMES is her first book for Candlewick Press. She wrote the story after talking to a child who was sad about her parents’ recent divorce. She says, "To comfort her, I talked about her two homes, and all the many things
she could do in them. It was a positive way of helping her accept the changes in her life, focusing not on what was missed, but on the abundance of good times — and love — that she would continue to share with her mom and dad."


Kady MacDonald Denton is the illustrator of A CHILD'S TREASURY OF NURSERY RHYMES and two books by Margaret Park Bridges - IF I WERE YOUR FATHER and IF I WERE YOUR MOTHER. TWO HOMES is her first book for Candlewick Press. She says, "Alex talks about simple things like toothbrushes, bedrooms, and friends — and they are all special because they are part of the love Alex feels in both homes. I tried to show that love in the illustrations."

Customer Reviews

Excellent
I was divorced a couple years ago and my then three year old was really having a tough time. I bought LOTS of books. This one stands out from them all. My girls could really relate to it. It is a pretty simple book, this is what my room looks like at mom's, this is what my room looks like at dad's. It also reinforces that fact that they are loved no matter where they are. I would highly recommend this for anyone going through the nightmare of divorce where kids are involved.

Good for toddlers or younger children
This book is simple and encouraging for the very young child. Amazon has a note that this is for the child up to age 8, but a school age child, other than kindergartener, would find it disappointing. This helps dispell fears of the toddler, young child group of losing their parents somehow with divorce. It addresses that they have a place and home with each parent which helps a young child adjust to divorce in the family. For the younger child, it is worth the cost. For the older child, look for a different book like Dinosaurs Divorce which addresses more feelings and complex issues.

Must-have for 3-5 year olds... and comes with a lasting title!
Of the several separated-parenting/divorce children's books I got, this one really stood out at least apologetic and most encouraging of stability and normalcy.

I got it in 2003 for my then preschooler, and it stuck around in her bookcase for a couple years, read a few times a year (per her desire).

Despite the less-than-ideal circumstance of splitting up a family, the book doesn't even address the negative. It rather, matter of factly (understanding that kids are pretty resilient), just shows what life is like for the child in the book... two sets of everything, and of course the same amount of love as always. It's not scary, it's not unknown. It's a life that any pre-schooler will be able to understand.

My daughter, now in kindergarten, still refers to her situation as "two homes". She even commented that some of her classmates have "two homes" too.

What a testament to a children's book on a difficult subject when the title gets incorporated into a kid's vocabulary!