Lily Hates Goodbyes / Children's book review

Author: Jerilyn Marler
Illustrated by: Nathan Stoltenberg
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace
(March 8, 2011)
ISBN-10: 146096070X

Book Description:
Sometimes Lily has to say goodbye to her Daddy for about a billion days. She feels a swirl of unhappy emotions that can be scary. And she aches to feel connected to her Daddy during his long deployments. Join Lily as she learns how to cope with her emotions and to be happy in her daily life while she looks forward to joyfully saying hello when Daddy gets home. "Lily Hates Goodbyes" is helpful for any child who suffers separations from a loved one. The charming illustrations will draw your child's interest immediately. Children appreciate the affirmation that scary emotions are normal and that they don't last forever. Parents appreciate the opportunity talk with their children about the scary emotions in a safe, non-volatile way. The author's suggestions at the back of the book provide guidance on how to use the book to help children understand and cope with what they're going through.....

My thoughts:
Lily Hates Goodbyes is a timely, well-written story of a little girl whose father is deployed in the military. She misses him and wishes he could be home with her and her mother. As the story moves along, Lily is given creative projects to help her adjust until he returns. As I listened to my daughter read the story to her son, I thought of how helpful this would be to so many children like Lily who find it difficult to cope with a parent who leaves home for an extended time. As I mentioned before, the book is well-written and very nicely illustrated. My only wish is that it had been directed more toward the non-commissioned, enlisted family (as there are many), and not exclusively toward military officers' children; otherwise, it would have been perfect. 4 stars****

(Thank you to the author for my review copy.)