Book Review…i and the Great Divide by Fiona McGlynn

New author Fiona McGlynn has created, with illustrator Robin Urquhart a book that explains divorce for children.  i And the Great Divide is a simple and visually appealing book designed to help the younger child understand divorce in their family.  The most important message in the book? It’s not your fault…ever.  Mom and Dad still love you.

The book is about an Alphabet town where letters live together to make ‘word’ families.  Tiny ‘i’, as the main character with a little red dress and a bow on her head is losing her word family.  She is in the middle of a ‘T’ and an ‘n’.

“In that town was an i who was happy indeed.  Her family was Tin a word everyone needs.”

But when T and n begin arguing and want to part ways, little i is afraid of the changes that will happen to her world.  She becomes the best little i in the whole alphabet town believing that this will keep her word family together.

“She puzzled and puzzled and reached the conclusion, that she had caused all the huff and confusion. They must be upset due to something she had done. She had just last week snuck a cinnamon bun.”  Little i concludes…

“So i declared ‘No more goofing around. I’ll be the best letter in town. So good that they’ll have no reason to fight. It’s up to me to set this mess right!’ “

When that doesn’t work little i rebels…

“She started to bully some words at school. She would mess up their meanings just to be cruel”

Finally, i gets the courage to ask T and N if they still love her.  She finds out that not only do they still love her but that they always will.  A new word family is made with other letters, UNiTY.  Tiny i is still in the middle, with more love and a larger word family than before.

The book uses the alphabet as a symbol of people and words as the symbol for families.  When fighting and splitting occurs they make new words…little i is relieved to know she isn’t to blame after all! This book will be comforting to children aged 4 up to 8 years old.  It’s the type of book the older set can read on their own or an excellent bed time story for the younger ones.  Cleverly, the word divorce is not used in the book.  Divorce is a word with so many negative connotations, it’s hard to explain it to a small child.  With this book, they can begin to understand the concept of separation, new families and love.  Fiona McGlynn has filled a void with her new book and I hope she continues to write books for children on various difficult subjects.

i and the great Divide is available on Amazon.

Other resources for Children and divorce;   Rainbows Canada  offer programs to help kids through grief and loss.

Rosalind Sedecca  is a well known children and divorce Writer/Therapist with many on-line articles dedicated to parenting through divorce.

Are you the parent of young children and going through divorce? What would you recommend to help small children cope with the family changes?