It's Not Your Fault, KoKo Bear
By Vicki Lansky
Illustrated by Jane Prince
Book Peddlers, Minnetonka, Minnesota, 1998
Reviewed by Laura Harting
Reviewed by Laura Harting
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| Illustration by Jane Prince |
Though the
main focus of the book is to assure children that divorce is not their fault,
it also addresses a child’s feelings, the difficulty of having two homes, and
why parents divorce. KoKo Bear
struggles with drawing a family picture at school and with forgetting things at
Dad's or Mom’s house. KoKo Bear also shares
mad, sad, and scared feelings and wishes they all still lived together.
This
is a book to read with your child. It
asks questions to encourage discussion about feelings and there are plenty of helpful notes for parents in small type at the bottom of every page. It is important to
note that an emphasis near the end of the book is on telling KoKo Bear that
they are still a family. While more
recent books focus on the child now being a part of two families, this book
states that MaMa and PaPa and KoKo Bear are still a family, just a family
apart.
I like how
the book addresses feelings and why parents divorce. I like that it focuses on the divorce not
being the fault of the child. I like
that this is an imaginary family of bears, which maintains a helpful emotional distance
for a young child. However, I found
myself a bit confused by the idea that the family is still a family, only a
family that lives apart. Perhaps your child will not find that confusing and may find it reassuring.
______________________________
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| Laura Harting, LCSW, sees young clients at her office in Paoli, Pennsylvania. |
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