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Single parent families childrens & teenagers books list
For many families going through separation and divorce, children are often confused about what’s happening to their family. Sudden changes, two homes and separate or new families are a lot for toddlers, preschoolers, school kids and teenagers to take on board. This list of single mum and dad books help children learn that family separation doesn’t have to be scary, and things are going to be okay.
Special single parent mention book – the Barefoot Investor is a massively popular book with single mums for saving money. You can mail order it from Booktopia here
Here is our top 10 pick of single parenting kids story books
1. Dinosaur’s Divorce by Laurie Krasny Brown & Marc Brown
For Ages: 4 – 7 years old
Dinosaurs Divorce A guide for changing families helps kids understand what divorce means, why it happens, and how to best cope with everyone’s feelings.
Topics covered in the book include: Divorce Words and What They Mean * Why Parents Divorce * After the Divorce * Living with One Parent * Visiting Your Parent * Having Two Homes * Celebrating Holidays and Special Occasions * Telling Your Friends * Meeting Parents’ New Friends * Living with Stepparents * Having Stepsiblings
2. Two Homes by Claire Masurel
For Ages: 2 – 4 years old
Two Homes will help children – and parents – embrace even the most difficult of changes with an open and optimistic heart. At Mommy’s house, Alex has a soft chair. At Daddy’s house, Alex has a rocking chair. In each home, Alex also has a special bedroom and lots of friends to play with. The gently reassuring text focuses on what is gained rather than what is lost when parents divorce, while the sensitive illustrations, depicting two unique homes in all their small details, firmly establish Alex’s place in both of them.
For Ages: 3 – 6 years old
The Family Book celebrates the love we feel for our families and all the different varieties they come in. Whether you have two mothers or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way. Parr’s message about the importance of embracing our differences is delivered in a playful way. With his trademark bold, bright colours and silly scenes, this book will encourage children to ask questions about their own families.
For ages 3-7 years old
The Adventure Birthday Party is a children’s book written by author Barbara Bryan – single mum, and founder of Singlemum.com.au. This is a super-cute tale that helps to normalise divorced and separated families, and should be on the book shelf of all Aussie single mum families! A single parent family children’s story book especially suited for Australian single parent families,
For Ages: 0 – 4 years old
Mum and Dad Glue is an incredibly powerful book about a boy coming to terms with his parents divorce by Kes Gray and Lee Wildish.
A little boy tries to find a pot of parent glue to stick his mum and dad back together. His parents have come undone and he wants to mend their marriage, stick their smiles back on and make them better. This story is brilliantly told with a powerful message that even though his parents may be broken, their love for him is not.
For Ages: 4+ years old
Parents, educators, therapists, and social workers alike have declared The Invisible String the perfect tool for coping with all kinds of separation anxiety, loss, and grief. In this relatable and reassuring contemporary classic, a mother tells her two children that they’re all connected by an invisible string. Even though you can’t see it with your eyes, you can feel it deep in your heart, and know that you are always connected to the ones you love. This heartwarming picture book for all ages explores questions about the intangible yet unbreakable connections between us, and opens up deeper conversations about love.
For Ages: 4 – 7 years old
My Family’s Changing is an unusual picture book for younger children explores the issue of divorce. The author of this book is a psychotherapist and counselor and helps children to face their fears, worries and questions when their family is going through a break-up. A special feature, “What About You?” sidebars appear frequently with questions directed at the child reading the book. The questions encourage children to explore their own feeling about the situation. Full color illustrations throughout.
For Ages: 7 – 11 years old
The Divorce Journal For Kids from parenting expert Sue Atkins gives children aged 7+ a safe place to express their feelings about divorce and the resulting changes, so that they can start to understand them. Full of creative activities to help them process this life-changing event, it provides children with a source of strength and comfort through this challenging time, as well as giving them a way of sharing how they are feeling with a trusted adult.
For Ages: 5 – 12 years old
Is your child stuck in the middle of a high-conflict divorce? In Getting Through My Parents’ Divorce, two psychologists and experts in parental alienation offer a fun and engaging workbook to help kids work through stressful or confusing emotions and feel safe and loved—no matter what. Divorce is never easy. But for kids who have parents in conflict with one another, or where one parent is so hostile that he or she is actively trying to undermine the kids’ relationship with the other parent, divorce can be unbearable. This workbook is designed especially for kids, and includes helpful tips and exercises to help them deal with the negative impact of custody disputes, understand and identify their feelings, learn to cope with stress and other complex emotions, and feel secure.
For Ages: 10 – 17 years old
A Guide to Help Teenagers with Their Parents’ Separation or Divorce. When a marriage ends, it is hard enough for the two people directly involved. When there are children in the family, however, the destructive effects of a divorce or separation are magnified. In Now What Do I Do? author Lynn Cassella-Kapusinski offers a workbook for teens to help them flush out their feelings and fears over their parents? divorce or separation. The author’s own parents divorced when she was eleven, and she writes with a style that teens can easily relate to without feeling talked down to. The exercises in Now What Am I Supposed to Do? can be done alone or with friends. While this book is aimed at teens, it is also a helpful guide for parents and youth ministers who want to help teens work through their emotions.
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The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape is a massively popular book with single mums, as it has a huge amount of strategies and budget tips for any household budget. This is a great book for learning how to operate the family budget on a shoestring and even save money while you’re doing it!
The Single Mum’s Survival Guide by Vivienne Smith is the essential single mum’s guide to separation, divorce, single parenting and almost every question that comes with it!
