Mama's Waves

by Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Erich Ippen

Overview

Ellie's mom did not come for their visit, and Ellie is stuck in a cloud of sadness and anger as she tries to understand why. Fortunately, Miss K. and Ellie's Uncle Finny are there to help her. Using the metaphor of a wave, they help Ellie talk about and understand her mother's ups and downs and recognize and hold on to loving memories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950168101
Publisher:	Piplo Productions
Publication date:	09/03/2020
Series:	Ellie Bean , #1
Pages:	34
Sales rank:	1,089,129
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Chandra Ghosh Ippen is a child psychologist and children's book author. She is Associate Director of the Child Trauma Research Program at the University of California, San Francisco and Director of Dissemination and Implementation for Child-Parent Psychotherapy. She is a member of the board of directors of Zero to Three and has spent the last 28 years conducting research, clinical work, and training in the area of childhood trauma. Her children's books include Once I Was Very Very Scared, Holdin Pott, and the Trinka and Sam disaster series, which has reached over 350,00 families across the world.

As a boy, Erich was always interested in cartoons and character design. In his professional career, as a digital artist and technical director at Industrial Light and Magic, he has created visual effects for movies like Rango, Harry Potter, The Avengers and Star Wars, and many others. He is also a singer, songwriter, music producer aka Kingdom Krumb, and founding member of the San Francisco rock band District 8.

Editorial Reviews

2022-11-01
A girl learns to confront her grief, loneliness, and frustration with a trip to the beach.

In this fourth installment of her picture-book series on navigating emotions, Chandra Ghosh Ippen brings readers lonely child Ellie. The girl lives with Miss K., but what she wants is to see her mother again. Unfortunately, her mom doesn’t write or call, leaving Ellie confused about how her parent feels and whether she cares about her. Ellie tends to act out despite Miss K.’s best efforts. One day, Miss K. announces she wishes to “go to the beach and yell into the waves” but that she needs Ellie to help her. They venture out and release their frustrations into the water before meeting up with Ellie’s Uncle Finn to talk about her mom. While short, this story manages to pack healthy coping techniques, discussions of grief, and an acknowledgment of how complicated emotions can be in a kid-friendly package. Finn uses an easy-to-understand metaphor involving waves to explain what Ellie’s mom is going through in such a way that it can be applied to numerous situations that readers can relate to—though Erich Ippen Jr.’s illustrations hint that she may be struggling with a form of mental illness. Throughout the tale, the images are simple watercolor pictures that effectively use a palette that starts out dark, then switches to brighter colors as Ellie’s mood improves. All of the characters are depicted with brown skin.

A valuable addition to the social-emotional–learning bookshelf. (Picture book for ages 3-5.)

Kirkus Reviews

Chandra Ghosh Ippen has done it again! In Mamma's Waves, Dr. Ippen speaks to the lived experiences of children in the child welfare system or separated from parents with mental health diagnoses. With its beautiful illustrations and direct yet sensitive prose, Mama's Waves captures children's feelings of disappointment, sadness, and loss, as well as love, hope, and connection. This book fills a gap in children's literature and is a must have book for professionals and caregivers.

Mindy Kronenberg, Ph.D., IMH-E(R)

Clinical Psychologist

From the Publisher