How do you explain to a child that Mom and Dad will no longer live together? Dealing with divorce can be very confusing and challenging for children. In Freeda the Frog Gets a Divorce (Mascot Books; ISBN: 978-1-63177-514-7), author Nadine Haruni presents a story to assist families adjusting to a new family dynamic and the often overwhelming feelings that surround it. Owing to the fact that approximately 50% of marriages end in divorce, it is helpful to have a children's book that explains what divorce is in a simple way. It also engenders empathy in kids whose parents are not divorced to better understand what their friends are going through.
The first book in her Freeda the Frog series, Freeda the Frog Gets a Divorce centers on young Frannie and Frank and their parents, Freeda and Fred, who now fight all the time. This makes Frannie and Frank sad, and then one day, Freeda tells Frannie and Frank that Mommy and Daddy are getting a divorce. The little tadpoles are confused, and once Freeda explains, Frannie and Frank cry and cry. They don’t understand why Mommy and Daddy don’t want to share the lily pad anymore. The adjustment is hard; Frannie and Frank live with their mom, Freeda, and visit their dad, Fred, at his new lily pad on the weekend.
Little Frannie and Frank soon learn that both parents will still love them even if they don’t live together. The little tadpoles also discover that they are not alone and that tadpoles at school also have divorced parents. Frannie and Frank’s classmates tell them not to keep their feelings inside and to talk to loved ones. Frannie and Frank slowly begin to understand that they will live happily ever after even with Mommy and Daddy living on different lily pads.
Whether reeling from a parent’s divorce or adjusting to a new family structure, parents and kids will find comfort in sitting together and reading how Frannie and Frank lived through their parents’ divorce. Freeda the Frog Gets a Divorce continues Nadine Haruni’s mission: helping families of all species, one tadpole at a time.
About the Author
Nadine Haruni is an award-winning children’s book author and a mother to five kids in a blended family. Her Freeda the Frog series follows a frog family as they go through various real-life “stuff” — from a parent’s divorce and subsequent remarriage to adjusting to a blended family, moving to a new town, starting a new school, and meeting the gay family on the lily pad next door. Beyond helping children who are going through these situations, her books aim to help all kids recognize that no two families look the same. Leveled to align with National Educational Standards, all five Freeda the Frog books have received the Gold Mom’s Choice Award for Excellence in the family-friendly picture book category, as well as Readers’ Favorite 5-star reviews. Freeda the Frog and the Two Mommas Next Door was honored with a Royal Dragonfly Book Award in the LGBTQ category. Haruni is a frequent guest on parenting podcasts, aiming to reach as many families as possible on her mission to encourage an environment of awareness, empathy and inclusivity. Along with writing and parenting, Haruni is a practicing attorney and a certified yoga instructor. She lives in Bergen County, New Jersey, with her family.
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