Recommended Books for Children Experiencing Divorce

Perhaps the best-known of the books for children, it is written for parents going through divorce to read to their young children. It explains the divorce process through the story of a dinosaur family going through divorce.

Jill Krementz, HOW IT FEELS WHEN PARENTS DIVORCE. Alfred A. Knopf, Turtleback. 1988. ISBN: 060603823

This book has some real, firsthand advice from those that know exactly what it’s like to have your parents divorce. The author interviewed nineteen kids, aged seven to sixteen,  from different background about what it feels like to be in the middle of a divorce. Through pictures of the children and their stories told in their own words, the author presents the pain and resilience of children going through divorce. Again, a good book because it is the children’s own words.

Judith Vigna, I LIVE WITH DADDY. Albert Whitman & Co., 1997. ISBN 0807535125.

Given the many divorce books with titles with Daddy Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, At Daddy’s on Saturdays, and Good-bye Daddy,  it is a helpful counter-balance to have the book I LIVE WITH DADDY, a book for the four-to-eight-year-old set that actually depicts a little girl living with her father. As Olivia’s mom misses many of her scheduled times with her daughter, her father’s responses to his daughter’s feelings and concerns are right on the money, and provide a role model for divorced parents to emulate.

Judy Blume, IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. Yearling Books, 1986. ISBN 0440441587.

This story, ideal for older girls, is written by the popular Judy blume. Karen Newman’s father has moved out and she can’t believe it. Her parents were made for each other. They were supposed to be together forever. She has to come up with a plan to get them back together and realize that divorce was a mistake.

Vicky Lansky, IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT, KOKO BEAR. Book Peddlers, 1998. ISBN 0916773477.

This is designed as a ‘read-together book’ for parents and young children. It is a nicely illustrated book that attempts to make divorce less emotionally burdensome for young children and, at the same time, teach important parenting skills to divorcing spouses. The children’s story follows a young bear cub, Koko, whose life is disrupted by divorce. Koko is told about the divorce, witnesses Papa Bear move out, and ultimately learns to adjust to life in both homes. Koko is reassured the divorce is not the cub’s fault and come to learn that while Mama Bear and Papa Bear are divorced from one another, they are not divorced from Koko. In small print at the bottom of the non-illustrated pages are helpful suggestions for parents.

Sara Bonkowski, KIDS ARE NONDIVORCEABLE: A WORKBOOK FOR DIVORCED PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN (AGES 6-11). ACTA Publications, 1987. ISBN 0915388316.

This ‘workbook’ is great for parents and their children. It has exercises for kids and advice for parents going through a divorce.

Sara Bonkowski, TEENS ARE NONDIVORCEABLE: A WORKBOOK FOR DIVORCED PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN (ages 12-18). ACTA Publications, 1990. ISBN: 0915388367

The companion book to Kids are Nondivorceable, this workbook is written specifically for divorced parents of junior high and high school children.  The workbook includes creative exercises, practical suggestions, and useful information for parents, trying to help adolescents understand and adjust to the separation or divorce of their parents.

Eric Rofes, THE KIDS’ BOOK OF DIVORCE: BY, FOR AND ABOUT KIDS. Vintage Books, 1982. ISBN 0394710185.

This was the first book to look at divorce specifically from a child’s point of view. A classroom teacher, Eric Rofes, made the book a classroom project complete with a discussion group for the kids. The kids talked o other kids and members of the community to come up with advice on all sorts of issues surrounding divorce.

Robin Cruise, THE TOP-SECRET JOURNAL OF FIONA CLAIRE JARDIN. Harcourt Brace & Co., 1998. ISBN 0152013830.

Robin Cruise’s book, in the format of a journal about one year in the life of a ten year old girl whose parents are divorcing, is well written, engaging and insightful.  Cruise refreshingly reminds us of the emotional life of a ten-year-old. As Fiona and her brother adjust, we see the important of supportive parents, teachers and neighbors.

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