Free eBooks My Bonus Mom!: Taking The Step Out Of Stepmom Available To Downloads
In rhythmic verse, My Bonus Mom!, shows children of divorced families that a positive attitude can lead to a happy outcome and springs open their hearts and minds to accept their own bonus moms. It captures the mixed emotions that surge through young children as they deal with divorce and adjust to remarriage. The children work through their feelings of dismay, fear and anger, and grow to love dad's new wife, whom they come to think of as their bonus mom. Twice the attention, twice the love, twice the fun and twice as many birthday presents! What's not to love? Earned Honorable Mention at 2013 Southern California Book Festival!
Hardcover: 56 pages
Publisher: Little Five Star; 1 edition (August 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1589850815
ISBN-13: 978-1589850811
Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.3 x 8.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #643,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #100 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Relationships > Stepparenting & Blended Families #165 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Family Life > Stepfamilies #324 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Family Life > Marriage & Divorce
Age Range: 4 - 10 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
As an almost-stepmom to a four-year-old, I was really excited to get this book in our home to help explain this new relationship and term to him. Unfortunately, the book isn't what we were expecting. The book highlights dad's anger at the divorce (red face; lots of anger in the words and illustrations) and portrays the children's mother as a frumpy lonely woman, with dad's new wife as the stereotypical younger, spunkier woman. While I get the intent ("New stepmoms are a positive thing! Fun!"), it just fed into stereotypical situations, and didn't at all send the message we were hoping. Sorry, we returned this book and never read it to our boy.
I am the stepmother of 2 children ages 5 and 3. My husband and I have a strong, healthy relationship with their mother. We thought this book would help them to understand the role/title of their new step-parent, but it does so by denigrating the father ever so slightly. For example, it shows a picture of the father leaving the house with a box of his things all in a huff and a dog chasing behind him (maybe the dad isn't always the one that leaves or is angry?); on the next page it says, "On Mondays and Tuesdays Mom's dinners were good/On Thursdays and Fridays Dad made what he could" - this is the opposite in our family and, again, degrades the ability of a father. We're all very aware of the negative connotation men get in divorce and/or child custody - and there are plenty of stories to support it. But there are just as many stories of truly wonderful fathers who are every bit as good of a dad as the mommy is a mom (and stories where the mom isn't involved at all). Really wish this book would have done a better job holding both parents up on a pedestal so our children could relate. Unfortunately, the negative stereotypes softly perpetuated in the book take away from the real beauty of a growing family out of divorce.
Very positive book for our 5 year old. The role of step mom is very confusing to a kindergarten. This book helped defined the roles of the dad, the stepmom and the mom without disrespecting the birth mom. This book was up beat, rhymed (what 5 year old doesn't like that), and was written in simple terms that clearly defined the positivity of a step mom/bonus mom. Part of what makes this book unique is the fact that it was written by a child of a step parent, instead of a step parent to a child. Highly recommend this book for new or soon to be step moms.
Divorce is difficult for parents and especially the kids. The children involved don't always understand and will put the blame on themselves. The best solution for this problem is to sit down with your kids and talk to them. Help them understand that they are not the problem. If you need a little visual help, introduce your young children to "My Bonus Mom".Not all stepparents are bad. Tami Butcher helps parents and children communicate their feelings with this wonderfully illustrated book. The core of this story comes from her own personal experiences as a young girl. Young readers can identify with the children in this book and will enjoy reading it over and over again.The story Butcher shares is about three sisters who are experiencing divorce. Both parents are upset but they are assured it is not at them. Soon they are spending certain days with mom and every other weekend with dad. As they get the hang of the new schedule they find that birthdays and Christmas are double the fun with double the gifts. Even the dog has adapted. All seems well until dad brings along a new friend to meet them. The girls find that they enjoy her very much and would like to get to know her.Butcher does a great job of showing readers that a new stepparent is a bonus. Readers will find through the rhythmic verse that stepparents are just people they will learn to love and in return they will be loved twice as much. This is a great story to share with children aged 5 to 8.
I got this book for my soon-to-be stepchildren who I already have a good relationship with. I wanted to get them a book to understand what a stepmom is and to help them know that I can be like an extra mommy to them. Unfortunately this book comes from a vantage point where the child is very hesitant about daddy's new girlfriend and angry about the divorce. It isn't until almost the end of the book that the child realizes having a stepmom is great.My 2 stepkids are 2 1/2 and 4/12 so they are too young to be angry about the divorce. They also don't understand why their mother doesn't like me or want to meet me. They have accepted me into their lives. I think this book is probably better for kids who are a little older and not accepting of the new woman in daddy's life.
I must confess up front, I do know the author. As a matter of fact, I have known the author Tami and her entire family for quite a long time. So you may count this review as biased if you must. I can bear witness to how Tami's family turned a divorce and remarriages into a wonderful, positive thing for her entire big, beautiful blended family! To this very day, you can see and feel that from everyone in her clan. This book so wonderfully hits head on how a real life, confusing, unsettling, and scary divorce can be turned into a healthy, loving environment for all. I applaud all four of her parents for the great work they did. They all can be credited with helping to raise four pretty amazing kids that I am lucky enough to know. However, simply living the experience, does not automatically write the book. Tami has done a tremendous job molding her own story into an inspiring and touching, perfectly written guide for all those faced with this situation. I was not a child of divorce, but my daughter unfortunately was . When my daughter was young, her mother remarried and it was a struggle. I wish I would have had this book available during that time. Mostly for my daughter, but for myself as well. I have come to very much like my daughter's Bonus Dad and am thankful he is a part of my daughter's life. If your children or anyone you care about, is faced with this situation...this amazing book can be a helpful tool to help the kids (and parents) through the rough waters of a split up or a new person coming into their lives! Bravo Tami!
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