A Brand New Day: A Banana Split Story by A. S. Chung and Illustrated by Paula Bossio

[I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.  No other compensation was received.]

A Brand New Day is an uplifting and beautifully illustrated story about a little girl’s life with her parents after the divorce.  It does a marvelous job of reminding us all that a parent’s marital status has nothing to do with how much they love their children.

Title: A Brand New Day:  A Banana Split Story

Author:  A. S. Chung

Illustrator:  Paula Bossio

Pigeonhole Books, July 2014, Fiction. ISBN: 978-0992538200

Suitable For Ages: 3 – 8+

Themes/Topics:

Family, Divorce, Parents

Opening:   

“I love Mondays and Tuesdays when I get to stay with my Dad.  I get to help make dinner with recipes from his notepad.”

Brief Synopsis:

A little girl tells us, in verse, about what her life is like on the alternating days that she spends with her mother and father.

From A Brand New Day. Images Courtesy of A.S. Chung.

From A Brand New Day. Images Courtesy of A.S. Chung.

Links To Resources:

Why I Like A Brand New Day: A Banana Split Story and Why You Should Read It:

  • It’s a positive story.  It focuses on all the wonderful things that the little girl gets to do with her mother and father.
  • This is a wonderful book for parents to read with their children.  A lot of parents have a tremendous amount of guilt for going through a divorce — but this story affirms that things really will be okay.
  • Families come in all shapes and sizes.  This is a marvelous representation that a child is still a whole person even if their parents are not married.  While this may be obvious, it is important to see it from an outside source.
  • It is so nice to see a book that shows life after divorce with people being happy — because it is so true!
  • The delicate monochromatic illustrations with highlights of pink set a contented and playful tone.
  • It’s a happy account of getting to spend one-on-one time with your mother or father.
  • The story doesn’t specifically mention that the parents are divorced — so it could happily apply to any family where the parents of the child do not live together.
  • My eldest son knows that my parents are divorced and this book gave us an opportunity to talk about what it was like for me as a child to go back and forth between parents.
  • My son asked me if my husband and I would ever get a divorce — and while I certainly hope not — I did appreciate the opportunity to reassure him that if we did get a divorce we would all get through it, and we both would still love him, and his brother, very much.
  • It is so nice to see a divorced family represented in a positive way.  I wish this book had been around when I was a child — it definitely would have helped to put things in perspective — not just for me, but for those around me, too.

Where to Get it:

Author/Illustrator Websites:

More Reviews of this Book:

Where Obtained:  I received a review copy from the publisher. No other compensation was received.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

FTC Disclosures:  Some of the links in the post above are Amazon affiliate links and others are IndieBound affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase something, I will receive an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Which goes to fund my family’s picture book habit.  It’s a vicious cycle, but we manage.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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I’m sharing this post with Perfect Picture Book Fridays over at Susanna Leonard Hill’s fantastic blog!  Her website is an incredible resource for picture book reviews and all things children’s books.  I’m always impressed with what I find on her site.  Please take a moment and check out lots of other picture book reviews.

29 comments

  3. Kim M.

    As a child of divorced parents, a book like this is definitely reassuring that you are loved by mom and dad even if they don’t live together anymore. I remember my mom gave me a care bears book speaking about divorce, and I read it a lot. I was seven.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Pigeonhole Books

    Tiffa, thank you so much for this wonderful review. This book is so close to my heart and it always bring me so much happiness to know that it may make a difference. I am glad that it opened up the opportunity for a conversation with you son and I am warmed by the thought that you feel it may have helped you when you were going through this yourself. Thank you again!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. writersideup

    Tiffa, this book cover looks so joyous, I was immediately drawn to it. I’m all for a book that depicts this because my husband and I were divorced when my son was young and as things turned out through the years, his wife is one of the dearest people in my life. So, yes, divorce can work! I’ll never forget when he was in grammar school and his teacher suggested he be a part of a group that was for kids with divorced parents. I figured she was right. After two meetings he asked if he could quit. He said it was all kids that had horrible times due to their parents divorcing and he didn’t fit in! You bet I took him out of that!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
      • writersideup

        It’s all about the parents not undermining each other for any reason AND keeping the reasons for divorce out of their relationship when it comes to the children. It’s only selfish parents who put their own emotions first (in respect to their former spouse) that the kids suffer. Every situation is different, but if the two parents (and their new spouses/partners) can agree on what’s important and how to handle things, it’s better for everyone, not just the child.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • Pigeonhole Books

          I couldn’t agree more. As divorced adults, we are responsible for causing the child to be such a tumultuous situation in the first place. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure their new life is filled with love and security. I hope my ex-husband and I are doing just that for our daughter and that she won’t be too affected in the ling run.

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    • The Picture Book Review

      That’s smart of you to listen, evaluate, and then based on your son’s feedback take him out.

      Looking back, my parents were fairly immature about their divorce. They were pretty young, and they did their best, but I wish they had had this book to see that the world was not ending and that things would be just fine. They were so worried about how I would turn out — and truthfully, my life has actually been better for it.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  10. Susanna Leonard Hill

    What a wonderful book! I’m so glad to be able to add it to our list because, surprisingly, we really don’t have many books that deal with the issue of divorce and it’s one that so many children have to deal with. Thank you so much for sharing this one!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

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