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About Hannah's Two Homes: A 5 Year Old's Perspective
π Author's Summary: Hannah’s Two Homes is a work of fiction geared to a pre-K to second grade level. It is a picture book that can be read to a child or, due to its simple sentence structure and vocabulary, might be read by the child who is at a beginning independent reading level. The story represents the thoughts of five-year-old Hannah, who splits her life between her Mom’s and Dad’s residences and her two sets of half-brothers and half-sisters. In the book, Hannah is sharing what she might be thinking if her emotions were “given a voice.” It can be the springboard from which the reader—parent, grandparent, or teacher—can begin a discussion and show their compassion for the child’s unique situation while gaining some valuable insights into their child’s perspective. It is a story of hope, coping, optimism, and ultimately, the healing power of love.π Author: Melodie Tegay
π Publisher: self-published
π Date: May 11, 2018
π Pages: 26
Guest Post by Melodie Tegay
In today's world, many young children find themselves in situations where they are not living full time with both of their parents. While adults often have the ability to get help with the problems of rebuilding their lives; more often than not the children involved feel saddened and confused. BUT what if there were a delightful, easy-reader, children's picture book that could help young kids make sense of what's happening to them and create an opportunity, a springboard, to discuss their feelings with a family member, teacher, social worker, physician, or therapist? Especially if, by doing so, it actually improved the child's ability to adjust to the many changes taking place during this stressful time?
My undergraduate studies and graduate degrees in social work, psychology,
and teaching, made me acutely aware of the importance of self-esteem in a
child's healthy development. 33 years later, as a now semi-retired primary
teacher, I became aware of some startling statistics reported in a 2017
article from the
PEW Research Foundation. It revealed that 20% of all married
parents were divorced and 50% of never-married parents were separated by
the time their children are 9 years old!
In spite of these numbers, nursery and primary teachers are hard-pressed
to find kid lit which reflects the cultural diversity of the American
family structure when they are teaching their units about
the family. To my dismay then, and even today, there is a dearth of
appropriate easy reader, children's picture books whose characters provide
role models who deal with this reality from the child's perspective. Nor
have I seen stories that touch on the holidays where each side of these
newly formed, often interfaith families, will now be celebrating in their
separate households.
I wrote Hannah’s Two Homes to fill this gap; creating a
book that fits equally well in a 4 to 8-year-old’s home, the parenting or
children’s section of the local bookstore or public library, a preschool
or primary classroom, or in a social worker's, guidance counselor's,
pediatrician's or therapist’s office.
Review from Online PR media
In her book, Hannah's Two Homes: Life in a "Blended" Family; a 5 Year Old's Perspective, author Melodie Tegay tackles these issues through the eyes of a child. Meet Hannah, who is getting used to living between her Mom's and her Dad's culturally diverse residences while, simultaneously, trying to fit into the dynamics of two newly reformulated family structures involving step-parents, and half-siblings. While remaining positive and upbeat, Mrs. Tegay pens her characters with a lighthearted hand, and colorful illustrations. By using simple sentence structure and easy-to-read vocabulary, she creates an opportunity for children, from pre-K through second grade, to better cope with this fragile, and sometimes anxiety-filled, issue.
Hannah’s Two Homes was a finalist in the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards contest in the Little Peeps Early Learner division. It is on
Ramona Marrow’s Top Children's Picture Books for Kindergarteners list and is recommended reading for 4-8year olds by Megan
Paghetti, administrator of The Family Book Club. Hannah's Two Homes is also featured on Ella's Way- a charitable organization that
donates S.E.L. books to local hospitals and schools.
Did you enjoy reading about Hannah's Two Homes? If so check out
these blog posts for more children's books about families:
- Book + Interview: Living in Two Homes Is Tough by Abby Cadet
- Book: How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman
- Book: Brandon Goes to Beijing (εδΊ¬) by Eugenia Chu
- Book + Craft: Will You Always Be Here? by Nadine Damo
- Book + Craft: Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow by Ann Morris
- Book: My Sister Emma by Gina Conger
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