Publishers Weekly
Walsh addresses divorce from a playful angle in this interactive story with smudgy, inviting pictures that resemble finger-painting. Large flaps compare and contrast the time a sandy-haired girl spends with each of her parents. A turn of a flap turns her yellow-walled bedroom at her mother’s house into her florally decorated bedroom at her father’s apartment. Her father takes her camping, her mom takes her to a farm, and when she is in a school play, both are sitting in the audience. The bright acrylics underscore the love in the girl’s life, as does an extended family photo album in the final pages. Ages 3–up. (June)
From the Publisher
Walsh addresses divorce from a playful angle in this interactive story with smudgy, inviting pictures that resemble finger-painting.
—Publishers Weekly
Children with divorced parents often lead bifurcated lives, and Walsh’s ingenious lift-the-flap book acknowledges this common situation in a welcoming, straightforward manner. On each spread, Walsh’s cheery, childlike paintings morph, via flaps, from yellow bedroom walls to flowered ones, from a panda nightlight to a string of glowing plastic butterflies. She also gracefully addresses post-divorce changes in birthday celebrations and afterschool routines... Of course no arrangement is perfect, and sometimes the girl misses the absent parent, but luckily the remedy is only a reassuring phone conversation—and a flap lift—away.
—The Horn Book
A little girl’s parents have separated, so she lives with her mom at her house and also stays with her dad at his apartment. As she describes her life in both homes, oversize lift-the-flaps show the differences... Bold, clear acrylic art mixed with collage is simple and childlike, while the flap on each spread lovingly supports differences and provides enjoyment. Children who live in two separate homes can gain a sense of security from this attractive, reassuring book.
—School Library Journal
A necessary and accessible treatment of a common family constellation. Recommended for children of divorce and for others seeking to understand diverse family structures.
—Kirkus Reviews
The direct, first-person narrative conveys much in its simplicity—but mostly reassurance that even imperfect situations can work for the child with loving, involved parents.
—Booklist
A picture book, with flaps and bright colors, that gently explores the experiences of a little girl whose parents are divorced.
—The Los Angeles Times
School Library Journal
PreS-K—A little girl's parents have separated, so she lives with her mom at her house and also stays with her dad at his apartment. As she describes her life in both homes, oversize lift-the-flaps show the differences. She has a bedroom in each household, but they are decorated differently, with a panda night-light in one and butterfly lights in the other. She has toys in both places, but it's okay to take her favorites wherever she goes. Her parents take turns picking her up from school and they provide different activities on the weekends and for special occasions. And if she's at one parent's house and misses the other, it's okay to talk on the phone. At the conclusion of the similarities in routine, the youngster knows that her parents love her, and there are pictures of her extended family members, who love her, too. Bold, clear acrylic art mixed with collage is simple and childlike, while the flap on each spread lovingly supports differences and provides enjoyment. Children who live in two separate homes can gain a sense of security from this attractive, reassuring book.—Janet Weber, Tigard Public Library, OR
Kirkus Reviews
Her parents may be divorced, but this little girl's family is anything but broken. Sometimes she lives with her mom, and sometimes with her dad, and clever lift-the-flap design juxtaposes how things are in one home versus the other. On her birthday, the girl's mother makes a cake, and the flap lifts to show her dad taking her bowling. Another spread reads, "Sometimes my dad takes me camping on the weekend…" and the flap lifts to reveal that sometimes her mom takes her "to see the animals at the farm." Other pages show joint activities--both parents attend a school play, and both are included in a photo album that the girl can look at if she misses one of them. This last point firmly situates the family's co-parenting arrangement on the side of the child, as does the fact that she freely brings favorite toys between homes. Despite this laudable content and its charming, simple, acrylic illustrations, the book lacks careful pacing. It begins and ends on the endpapers, resulting in a cramped feeling, and culminates in a rushed ending with pictures of friends and family who also love the little girl. Even with this misgiving, this is a necessary and accessible treatment of a common family constellation. Recommended for children of divorce and for others seeking to understand diverse family structures. (Picture book. 2-6)
