Always Mom, Forever Dad

by Joanna Rowland, Penny Weber

Overview

Many children of divorced or separated parents live by turns with their dad in one home and their mom in another. For most such kids, things are different than they used to be, and they’re different with Dad than with Mom. As these children move between homes, they can’t help but wonder: will mom still love me? Will Dad?

In this reassuring picture book, young readers see children who have two households—whether because of divorce, separation, or other circumstances—experiencing life’s ups and downs with both parents — secure in the knowledge that Mom will always be Mom, and Dad is forever Dad.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884483694
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	06/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Joanna Rowland is an elementary school teacher in the San Juan Unified School district. As a teacher, she saw that many of her students have two homes, and wrote Always Mom, Forever Dad with those children in mind. She lives in California with her husband and three daughters.
Penny Weber is a mother, wife, cat and dog lover, and artist who loves good books, hockey, and action movies. Her books include On My Way to School, Amazingly Wonderful Things, One of Us, Unplugged, Always Mom-Forever Dad, and Ava's Adventure.

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2014
K-Gr 2—The premise of this book is that children of divorce who must alternate between households are still surrounded by love. A variety of children from different ethnic backgrounds are depicted enjoying fun activities with one parent and then with the other. They bake together, stargaze, and hunt for tadpoles. When the children miss their other parent, the adult they are with encourages phone calls or sings songs that the other parent sang; connection with the non-present parent is never discouraged or disparaged. The simple and straightforward text would be comforting to a child faced with this situation. The illustrations are a bit stiff and have a slight greeting-card quality, and the colors sometimes cross the line from bright to garish. A serviceable addition for those in need of the subject matter.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

School Library Journal

"A great book for children dealing with the divorce of their parents."

DadsDivorce.com

"Rich in love, acceptance, and understanding, an excellent role model for children and parents."

San Francisco Book Review

"A must read for all families. Suitable for all ages."

Goodreads

2014-04-16
Straight-up bibliotherapy delivered by a composite narrator whose parents live apart.Leaving out overt mention of same-sex parents but otherwise trying to be inclusive, Weber pairs eight smiling young children on adjacent spreads with similarly smiling adults of diverse mixed-and-matched skin color and facial markers. Seasons and settings differ, but in each case, the adults (who all live alone, from the evidence) are depicted sharing parallel activities with their child—baking or eating together, planning to call or send a drawing to the other parent, reading or telling stories—as the narrator delivers platitudes: "[Dad] says sometimes things fall apart so you can build something stronger than before"; "[M]om says changes can be hard but they can be exciting too." In the opening and closing scenes, the only two showing both parents (their hands, anyway) in the same frame, the child expresses a statement of belief in parental affirmations that he or she is and will always be loved.It covers the basics but far too simplistically to be as persuasive as, for instance, Claire Masurel and Kady MacDonald Denton's Two Homes (2001) or Tamara Schmitz's Standing on My Own Two Feet (2008). (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews