Monday 4 November 2013

Picture book review : My Daddy's Going Away - Christopher MacGregor & Emma Yarlett


My Daddy's Going Away is specially written for families with a dad in the armed forces (or other job taking him away from home), in order to prepare their children for their upcomng time apart. It's not something we've ever had to deal with but I can perfectly understand how hard it must be and anything that help kids come to terms with it and know that all the emotions that they're feeling are normal has to be positive.


The book has a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales, who is also a Patron of Combat Stress, a charity working to help armed forces veterans who have to deal with lasting psychological trauma.


The book, written in funny rhymes, has a really positive message, reinforcing the fact that - although Dad may be many miles away - he still loves you very much and can't wait to get back home to be with you.


The cute pictures have fun little details in them that made the Madhouse Mini-testers laugh, such as Mum knitting the spaghetti for dinner ! They also liked the fact that the dad appears to head off on an intergalactic mission, rather than to a warzone.


The book is very upbeat and optimistic, which will be reassuring and comforting for youngsters who are daunted by the prospect of their dad disappearing for a while.


But it also shows that it's OK to feel down and that you should rely on your mum and your best friend to cheer you up, rather than bottling things up.

You can tell that this is written by someone who has experienced it firsthand and, sure enough, author Christopher MacGregor is a serving British Army Officer, as well as a dad. He wrote the book after coming back from Iraq where he commanded over 100 soldiers (with over 50 children between them) and saw how beneficial it was for everyone's well-being to say proper goodbyes and prepare families for Daddy's absence.

My Mummy's Going Away will also be released next year.

for more information : http://www.mydaddysgoingaway.com/

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £10.99

  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday Childrens (26 Sep 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0857532111
  • ISBN-13: 978-0857532114
  • Product Dimensions: 27 x 24.2 x 1 cm




Disclosure : We received a copy of the book in order to write an honest review.

Other reviews you may be interested in :

Picture book review : What If ...? - Anthony Browne

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