Fred Stays With Me!

by Nancy Coffelt, Tricia Tusa (Illustrator)

Overview

A poignant picture book about a young girl, who in the face of her parents' divorce, turns to the one constant in her life-her dog Fred.

Sometimes I live with my mom. Sometimes I live with my dad. But Fred stays with me.

Told from the point of view of a young child whose parents are divorced, Fred Stays with Me follows a girl and her dog, Fred, from one parent's house to the other's, giving her a sense of continuity and stability. With a simple text and childlike language, the story expresses and addresses a child's concerns, highlights the friendship between child and pet, presents a common ground for the parents, and resolves conflict in a positive way. Tricia Tusa's charming and whimsical artwork adds a light, happy feel to this poignant—but not overly sentimental—story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316077910
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/04/2011
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,117,423
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	430L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy Coffelt is the author/illustrator of the several picture books for Harcourt: The Dog Who Cried Woof; Good Night, Sigmund; Tom's Fish; and Dogs in Space. She began writing and painting children's books when she started a family of her own. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Tricia Tusa has written and illustrated several acclaimed picture books, including Mrs. Spitzer's Garden; Maebelle's Suitcase; Camilla's New Hairdo; Bunnies in My Head, which features drawings by young patients at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; and our own Wing Nuts. She lives in New Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

A 2008 ALA Notable Children's Book

*"...Coffelt offers a fresh, villain-free look at a split family-and at a girl who finds strength, love and reassuring consistency in the dear pooch who is all her own....A gem."—Kirkus, starred review

...a nice choice for pet-loving families, divorced or not, to share ."—Parent's Choice

From the Publisher