Mabel's Topsy-Turvy Homes - Candy Wellins - ★★★.¾

-
AUTHOR: Candy Wellins
ILLUSTRATOR: Jess Rose
GENRE: Children's Picture Book
PUBLICATION DATE: October 25, 2022
RATING: 3.75 stars

Excellent illustrations, great intent, over-simplified story.

Mabel is the child of divorced parents. (The blurb says ‘divorced’. The book doesn’t explain anything.) As such, her life is divided between two houses. Thus her bedroom, her bathroom, her breakfast, her play time, all are different and she feels frustrated. However, when it is her turn to have the class pet iguana over, she realises how much fun the iguana has with a different house each week. She soon sees the positive side of her situation.

I read this book thrice. Thrice! A picture book! Once each for three consecutive days. The first two times, I felt like there was something missing but I couldn’t put a finger on it. Third time’s the charm, as they say. The story is much too simplified! Let me elaborate...

Mabel’s mom seems to live alone in her home, and so does Mabel’s dad in his home. There’s no other step-family in the picture. Furthermore, the book makes it a point to contrast the living habits of the parents in a bid to get Mabel to appreciate the variety in her life. For example, home-cooked meals in one house and takeaways in the other; bubble baths in one house and showers in the other; bedtime is story-time in one house and tickle-time in the other. But what if a child’s parents have similar habits and there’s not much difference in the lifestyle? What if the parents are bitter towards each other? What if the parents are busy at work and the staying plans are changed? There are many grey areas in this situation but the book only covers a picture-perfect ideal.

Yes, I love the intention of the book. Its heart is in the right place. I loved that positive spin it put on a frustrating situation. But divorce is never easy on the kids, and this book might go two ways. It will either help the children look at things in a more optimistic manner, or it will break their little hearts for not having a similarly smooth life even after their parents’ separation.

For what it’s worth, the illustrations are adorable. The contrasts of Mabel’s two lifestyles comes out very clearly, and the bright colours add to the charm.

I guess when you have to explain difficult ideas to children, simplification is the best way out. But I still feel this book is a bit too idealistic.

My thanks to Beaming Books and Edelweiss+ for the DRC of “Mabel's Topsy-Turvy Homes”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Comments

Post a Comment

Explore more posts from this blog:

Violent Advents: A Christmas Horror Anthology - Edited by L. Stephenson - ★★★.¼

-
Image
  EDITOR: L. Stephenson GENRE: Christmas Horror Anthology PUBLICATION DATE:  December 12, 2024 RATING: 3.3 stars. In a Nutshell: A short-fiction anthology filled with Christmassy horror. Some really good stories here, though I wish there had been more variety in the “source of the evil.” A good option for those who are fed up of saccharine seasonal stories. This is the time of the year when readers are torn between spooky season and Christmas season. Here's a book that combines both. 😉 This indie anthology contains twenty-six stories by twenty-six writers. There’s no editor’s note, but the title and the tagline make the theme clear – it is a “Christmas horror” anthology. The stories are mostly fast-paced, which works well in this genre. After the first few stories, I wondered why a majority of them were using the Christmas tree as the horror device-of-choice. It occurred frequently enough for me to start eyeing every Christmas tree in the stories suspiciously. Only after...
Read More»

The Little Christmas Library - David M. Barnett - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: David M. Barnett GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 10, 2024 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A character-oriented contemporary fiction with a strong Christmas spirit and a dash of Christmas magic. Excellent characters and a well-connected narrative linking them all. True to contemporary times in every way. Might get a bit too sugary, but works well for the genre. A fabulous and heartwarming option for the festive season. Plot Preview: When Molly McGinley moves from London to her Northern hometown of Merry-le-Moors, she feels like an utter failure. Ten years in the big city, and all she has to show is a broken relationship and no job. Her widower dad Jack is more than happy to have his daughter home, especially as he is still missing his wife who passed away a decade back. Jack now whiles away his time driving the town’s mobile library and he insists that Molly accompany him on his rounds instead of moping alone at home. As the two take the library bus t...
Read More»

Somebody I Used to Know - Wendy Mitchell - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Wendy Mitchell GENRE: Memoir PUBLICATION DATE: June 5, 2018 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: The memoir of a woman who unexpectedly became the face of young-onset Alzheimer’s in the UK. Ghost-written with the help of a journalist, this book covers her diagnosis, reaction, coping strategies, everyday experiences, and her plans for the future.. The writing is filled with pain and frustration as well as hope. Much recommended. Do note that it might be triggering for Alzheimer’s patients and also caregivers. A reading challenge I am participating in needed a book penned by a ghost-writer. I was very clear that I didn’t want to opt for any celebrity memoir, most of which are sanitised fake versions of their lives. Nor did I want to try fictional novels that straddled the line between pseudonymous and ghost-written. ( The Nancy Drew series, for instance. ) Google led me to Wendy Mitchell’s memoir. One look at this book’s blurb, and I knew I finally found the right option for the...
Read More»

Making Up the Gods - Marion Agnew - ★★★★.¼

-
Image
AUTHOR: Marion Agnew GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: October 15, 2023 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: An indie drama with some quirky characters and a great setting in Lake Superior, Canada. Mellow in tone, genuine in content, thought-provoking in themes. I enjoyed this unusual novel. Plot Preview: Simone, almost 70, is a retired widow who lives an isolated life in her cottage on the banks of Lake Superior and still misses her husband, though he’s been dead for five years. While she is now active in her local church and finds solace in baking for those grieving, she is fiercely protective of her privacy. But when the local reverend asks her to take care of nine-year-old Chen while his widowed mother goes on a much-needed trip, Simone finds it tough to refuse a fellow-mourning widow. Just before Chen arrives, a stranger named Martin knocks at Simone’s door, claiming to be her cousin. Simone is suddenly handling two strangers at once, and she worries that they will dis...
Read More»

Dropseed: The Story of Three Sad Women - Nettie Magnan - ★★★

-
Image
AUTHOR: Nettie Magnan GENRE: Literary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 30, 2024 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary fiction about three women and their individual struggles. Great nature imagery and intriguing flawed characters, but too overwritten for my liking. Readers who like descriptive prose and don’t mind meandering storytelling are bound to enjoy this better. I was the wrong reader for this book. So please take this review with a pinch of salt. Plot Preview: Sally is a frustrated middle-aged ex-artist who is tired of the monotony of her life. Now with the added task of caring for her ailing mother, Sally seeks a change, but can she do so at the cost of her responsibilities? Mary, Sally’s mother, is not happy about how she has been reduced to complete dependence because of her illness. Her crankiness is often a cover for her frustration and her regrets. Is it too late for her to find peace? Beth, Mary’s caretaker, knows she has a tough patient, but even handling Mary is b...
Read More»