Mum and Dad Glue

Product Information

In the second half of the book, where the main character realizes that it is ok and that hearts cannot be put back together with glue the images are no longer broken. Its about him understanding that sometimes things are out of his control and instead of him blaming himself and trying to fix it, he instead accepts it even if it does still hurt. It is about a little boy who is trying to cope with his parent separating but because his world is torn apart, its hard for him to do. Written in a continuous prose, the story feels like a real steam of consciousness, with all the worries spilling out of the child.

Wonderful job on showing how a divorce will feel for a kid, like his world, like his everything is also broken apart. The book follows the story in a sensitive and soft tone, and would be a perfect read with a child who is experiencing this in their life.It softly and gently addresses what can be such a difficult subject with lighthearted illustrations and rhyming poetry. The illustration powerfully pairs with the text, as everything from buildings, lamp-posts and lunch boxes are broken in two. The author conveys a difficult topic in a sensitive manner whilst offering a sense of warmth and understanding at the end.

I love how it tackles the emotions they must be feeling in a light hearted manner (rhyming couplets).

Perhaps this would be a great story to talk about the effect of structure on the reader and the illusions that structure helps to create. His method for this isn't the usual response though: he looks for glue to stick his mum and dad together. It would be a great recommendation to send home, or to read in a smaller, comfortable group, so that children feel they can ask questions, share their response and feelings and talk through these in a trusting environment. However by removing the crack later in the story but still having the same whole page illustrations provides a key visual message that in time the situation does heal.