Mum and Dad Glue

I absolutely loved this book! It strikes me as sad that a book like this one needs to be written but I understand why it does. This book is about a little boy whose parents are splitting up and expresses that he wants “Mom and Dad Glue” to fix their relationship. I really liked that this book

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was written like a poem with an ABAB rhyming scheme. I like that this book was written in the first person from the perspective of the child. He asks himself, “Am I the reason why?” which is something I think a lot of children struggle with when their parents go through a divorce. I also really liked the illustrations in this book and thought that they really added to the story. In the background of every scene, there were many things that were literally broken in half. I think this really contributed with how torn the little boy must be feeling.
The overall theme of this book is to communicate to children that a divorce is not their fault. At the end of the book the little boy walks into a glue shop and the store owner tells him that there is no glue that can fix his parents marriage and that he just has to let it be. She reassures him that just because his parents are separating, does not mean that they love him any less. This is an extremely important message to relay to children in today’s society.

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The main idea of this story is that even if parents get divorced, they still love their children and the divorce is never their children’s fault. I liked this book because of the plot development and because of the illustrations. I liked that the plot development used a lot of emotions. At the

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beginning, when we are first introduced to the boy and to the divorce of his parents, he is sad. But, by the end, after he talks to the glue salesperson, he is feeling much better, as shown by the following quote: “My parents may be broken but their love for me is not.” The illustrations were very effective in aiding the understanding of the plot as well. Before talking to the glue salesperson, there is always at least one object (usually more) in the illustration that is broken, with a large crack down the middle. But, after hearing that the divorce is not his fault and that his parents still love him, the illustrations are pieced back together, and no longer have the giant crack in them. This powerful image shift from cracked to fixed was a nice parallel to the plot and to what the boy was feeling.

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I loved this book for many different reasons. First, I felt that the illustrations in this book not only pulled the story together but also enhanced it tremendously. Throughout the first half of the story when the little boy is upset and confused about his parents divorce, everything in the

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background has large crack in the middle of it. The cracks symbolize how he saw his world; broken. However, once he began to feel better after meeting with the lady in the glue stores, the objects in the background begin to lose their cracks. The whole objects symbolize the new, positive outlook he had on his life. Additionally, I found the language in this book to be very clear and descriptive with various rhyming patterns throughout the text. One quote that I specifically liked was when the boy said, “I pull my life together.” I felt that there was a strong connection between this line and the various cracks on the pages that were put physically put back together once he began to be happy again. Overall, I felt that this story did a tremendous job of portraying a common problem that children unfortunately go through while shedding some light on the situation. The big idea of this story is that there is always a positive outlook on a situation regardless how difficult the situation might be.

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In this sad yet realistic book the author writes about a boy whose parents are getting separated. He desperately wants to fix them and that is conveyed so wonderfully though the illustrations where his whole world seems broken. The author has the boy speaking things such as "Theres every glue that

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you could want unless that you is me." In the end the little boy has a change of heart after speaking to a wise lady who lets him know it's all about acceptance. The little boys world seems mended when he comes out of the glue shop and he says "My parents may be broken but their love for me is not."

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Mum and Dad Glue has definitely become one of my favorite picture books so far. This book was extremely touching and can help any child going through a family divorce. Furthermore, it helps kids realize that everything happens for a reason and their love for you will never change. I really liked

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the illustrations and the fluency of the writing. The book rhymed throughout which helped with the flow of the text. It was an easy way to grasp the content on each page. On the other hand, the illustrations were very powerful in this book. Throughout the story, objects had a crooked line down the center splitting the item. For example, the glue shop had a crack down the middle and so did the trees, lights, and cars. These pictures showed how the little boy was feeling...that everything is broken. Overall I feel all ages could read and receive the same powerful message.

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I enjoyed this book. I thought the poetry in the story was cute. I personally liked this book because of the writing. The poetry helped make the story flow. The author stated, “My friends say not to worry. My friends say I’ll be fine. Lot of parents separate, But no, no, no! Not mine!” This

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made the story to follow along with. I also liked the story plot because it is relatable to the readers. Other people whose parents’ go through divorce can relate to this book. The big idea of this story is that the child is not to blame for parents’ problems. Parents love their child just the same even after divorce.

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I really enjoyed this picture book. One of the reasons I liked this book was because illustrations. I thought that the way that each piece of his life was compared in picture was really awesome. The way his bedrooms were compared and the way his time spent with each parent was compared really says

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a lot about how he is being parented at each home. From what I saw, neither parenting style was necessarily wrong. Both parents were illustrated to show love and compassion in their own way. I think that these pictures show a lot about how different homes can be okay.
A second reason I liked this book was because of the point of view. I liked how the story was put in the first person because it gives an insight into how the child is feeling. For younger readers, this allows them to really see themselves in the story. They can more easily relate to the situation, and this can help them to cope. This is also very helpful for adult readers who may not have been put in this situation because it brings the situation down to a level of understanding that is easy for everyone.
The big idea that I picked up on in this story is that divorce has plenty of silver linings for the children to cling onto. These can be used to help the kids work through this type of situation should it arise.

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I liked this book. First, the use of the ABCB rhyme scheme, which could be seen in uses such as “I need a pot of parent glue… to stick them back together…I need to patch their marriage up… I need to make them better” made it very easy to read through and made the book sound like a song.

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By sounding like a song, I found that it lightened the mood of the more somber topic of separating parents. Another reason I liked this book is for its use of illustrations. During the majority of the book, all the buildings and items the main character interacted with were cracked down the middle; yet at the end, after the main character learned the lesson the book sought to teach, all the buildings and items that were once cracked were whole again. Although simple in concept, these illustrations provided a visual aid for the idea that parental separation does not mean your entire world is being separated, although it may feel like it. Overall, there are two big ideas running through this book. First, although parental separation can make you feel as if your life and everything in it is separating, your life is not separating in those types of ways. The second main idea is that parental separation is not necessarily your fault, nor it is your job to try and mend the separation.

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I liked this book moderately. It was difficult for me to relate to because I have not experienced divorce, but I have seen many other families and friends who have experienced it. I thought the concept of relating putting the boy’s parents back together was a clever idea. I didn’t enjoy the

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repetition of the story. The story went through ideas of how he could put back his parents’ together using tape and various materials. I liked the illustrations because on each page there was something shown broken. Once the boy figured out he wasn’t the problem in the divorce and his parents still loved him, everything in the pictures were shown put back together. The main message in this book is coping with divorce.

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I liked this book for many reasons. This book was very strong emotionally, which drew me into liking it even more. The illustrations in this book were fantastic to me, I thought that they portrayed a nice visual of how the boy in the story was feeling, broken. The story could have gone on with the

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illustrations being together, but with them being cracked it just added a whole different element to the story. Another reason I liked this book was because of the plot. I really enjoyed the emotion that was brought through the text and how the whole time the boy was trying to fix his parents with this glue, and then he finally realized that it’s not his fault and the illustrations became whole again. Finally, I liked that this book rhymed. Because the message is so strong, I like that the author tried to lighten the mood with rhyming words throughout the story. The message in this story is that no matter what happens to your family, they will love you the same and you should never blame yourself.

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I do not love this book because I believe it takes too long for hope and positivity. I understand that every book cannot have a happy ending but a hopeful ending is important and for me, this book isn't as hopeful as it could be. Divorce can be an extremely difficult situation to go through for

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young children, so I believe a book about divorce should be more comforting. I also do not like the illustrations because there is always something broken on every page. I think this gives off a negative vibe and the wrong message. I think the book would be more effective if it was written from the parents point of view and not the child's. I like the language of the book and the rhyming and flow of words. It makes the book easy to read. I also like how the book finally ends with positivity and hope. A quote I like from the book is, "Their love for me will never break, it's chip and shatter free. It also comes with something else, a lifetime guarantee." I think thine line is very positive and and example of how parents feel going through a divorce. An example of a line I do not like from the book is, "I need a pot of parent glue to stick them back together. I need to patch their marriage up, I need to make them better. I need to stick their smiles back on, I need to get them mended. I need them to be mom and dad, the way they were intended." The reason I do not like like this quote is because it puts blame on the child and tells the reader that their parents are "suppose" to be together.

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Kes Gray creates a captivating story about a young boy whose parents are separating, while still holding a young reader’s interest. He does this through the use of emotional illustration, creative use of language and a well-developed character. The first aspect you notice about this book are the

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pictures because they are not only extremely colorful, but also broken. Each object within the illustration has a crack down the middle symbolizing how broken the young boy’s world must feel since his parents are getting divorced. The author is also creative in his use of rhyming throughout the story. At first this choice surprised me, but it made the story an easy read where you almost felt as if you could not stop reading because you needed to read the poem through to the end. This will also help to keep young reader’s attention as they read what can be considered both a heartbreaking and heartwarming story. The part I most enjoyed about this story however was the main character, whose parents were separating. Throughout the story the author built upon the young boys emotions. At first he thought he could fix his parents, then he thought the entire thing was his fault, finally he realized that although they may not need one another they will always need and love him. The boy’s final realization is very similar to the author’s main message that families can live apart, that divorce is no one’s fault and that parents although separated will always love their children.

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In my opinion, this is a great book. The story was about a boy who had to deal with his parents getting divorced and he was very sad. He wanted to find a way to mend the problems that they were having. I liked this book for 3 reasons. First, the main character was portrayed in a great way. The

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little boy was believable and he showed good reasoning as to why he was upset. He was also very determined to fix his parents’ relationship. This is shown in the story when he goes to the glue store and searches all over for marriage glue. A second thing I liked about this story was that the illustrations were very helpful and meaningful to the plot. There were rips in the pages, which showed the little boy’s feelings. This shows that everything is broken and at the end of the story, the rips were gone. In addition, the illustrations were very descriptive. Each page included pictures of the journey that the little boy took to find the glue shop. A last reason I liked this book was because it pushes readers to think about tough issues. Divorce is a huge issue in today’s world and this book does a good job addressing the issue in a way that can be comforting to children. It can help to relax children and show them that divorce is not their fault and that everything will be okay. The big idea is that no matter what happens between the boy’s parents, they will always love him and be there for him. This message reaches out to any child who is reading this book and going through the issue of divorce.

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