Reading Lists

Divorce

Picture Books

Adams, Eric J. & Kathleen Adams                                                                         
On the Day His Daddy Left  (JE ADA)
On the day his father moves out of the house, Danny's teacher, friends, and family reassure him that his parents' divorce is not his fault.

Hoffman, Mary                                                                                                          
Boundless Grace  (JE HOF)
Grace is invited for a visit with her father and his new family in Africa.

Masurel, Claire                                                                                                        
Two Homes (JE MAS)
Lynn's make-believe friend helps her adjust to her two homes after her parents' divorce.

McAffee, Annalena & Brown, Anthony                                                                  
The Visitors Who Came to Stay (JE MCA)
When Mary and her son come to stay with Katy and her divorced father, Katy has a hard time learning to share her father's love.

Noble, June                                                                                                              
Two Homes for Lynn  (JE NOB)
Lynn's make-believe friend helps her adjust to her two homes after her parents' divorce.

Padoan, Gianni                                                                                                        
Break-Up: Facing Up to Divorce  (JE PAD)
Joe learns to adjust to his parents' separation when he realizes that they still love him.

Spelman, Cornelia Maude                                                                                      
Mama and Daddy Bear’s Divorce  (JE SPE)
Dinah Bear feels sad and scared when her parents say they are going to divorce.

Juvenile Fiction

Bunting, Eve                                                                                                   
Some Frog! (JUV FIC BUNTING)
Billy is disappointed when his father doesn't show up to help him catch a frog for the frog-jumping competition at school, but the one he and his mother catch wins the championship and Billy begins to accept his father's absence.

Blume, Judy                                                                                                         
It’s Not the End of the World (JUV FIC BLUME)
When her parents divorce, a sixth grader struggles to understand that sometimes people are unable to live together.

Buehler, Jona                                                                                                             
There’s No Surf in Cleveland (JUV FIC BUEHLER)
Having moved with his mother to Los Angeles after his parents' divorce, ten-year-old Philip finds that he hates California and does everything in his power to get back to his relatives in Ohio.

Christopher, Matt                                                                                  
The Comeback Challenge (JUV FIC CHRISTOPHER)
Mark, center for his middle school's soccer team the Scorpions, must cope with his parents' divorce and a teammate who holds a grudge against him.

Cleary, Beverly                                                                                                 
Dear Mr. Henshaw (JUV FIC CLEARY)
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.

Cleary, Beverly                                                                                                 
Strider (JUV FIC CLEARY)
In a series of diary entries, Leigh tells how he comes to terms with his parents' divorce, acquires joint custody of an abandoned dog, and joins the track team at school.

Danziger, Paula                                                                                             
The Divorce Express (JUV FIC DANZIGER)
Resentful of her parents' divorce, a young girl tries to accommodate herself to their new lives and also find a place for herself.

Danziger, Paula                                                                                             
Amber Brown Sees Red (JUV FIC DANZIGER)
The year that she is in the fourth grade is a difficult one for Amber, as she tries to deal with escalating telephone fights between her divorced parents and her father's impending return to take joint custody of her.

Danziger, Paula                                                                                             
Amber Brown is Feeling Blue (JUV FIC DANZIGER)
Nine-year-old Amber Brown faces further complications because of her parents' divorce when her father plans to move back from Paris and she must decide which parent she will be with on Thanksgiving.

Duffey, Betsy                                                                                                      
Coaster (JUV FIC DUFFEY)
While secretly building a roller coaster in the woods, twelve-year-old Hart tries to come to terms with his parents' divorce and his mother's new relationship with a television weatherman.

Fine, Anne                                                                                                                 
Step By Wicked Step (JUV FIC FINE)
Five schoolmates share the stories of their parents' estrangements, divorces, and remarriages and the effects these events have had on their lives.

Fitzhugh, Louise                                                                                            
Sport (JUV FIC FITZHUGH)
Eleven-year-old Sport lives happily with his absent-minded father. His ruthless and wealthy mother suddenly wants his custody.

Gaeddert, LouAnn Bigge                                                                            
Just Like Sisters (JUV FIC GAEDDERT)
Carrie hopes she and her cousin will become just like sisters during Kate's stay which is brought about by her parents' separation.

Giff, Patricia Reilly                                                                                       
Rat Teeth (JUV FIC GIFF)
Fifth-grader Cliffie feels that nothing has been right in his life since his parents got their divorce and his front teeth began growing out over his lower lip.

Hurwitz, Johanna                                                                                            
DeDe Takes Charge!  (JUV FIC HURWITZ)
A year after her father has left home for good, fifth-grader DeDe helps her mother cope with the realities of life after divorce.

LaFaye, A.                                                                                                           
The Year of the Sawdust Man  (JUV FIC LAFAYE)
In 1934, when her mother leaves her and her father, eleven-year-old Nissa tries to cope with the gossip of her small Louisiana town and the changes in her own life.

Napoli, Donna Jo                                                                                                
Changing Tunes (JUV FIC NAPOLI)
Ten-year-old Eileen's life changes drastically when her father separates from her mother and moves out, taking with him the piano on which she is used to practicing every day.

Peck, Richard                                                                                                                      
Unfinished Portrait of Jessica (JUV FIC PECK)
A trip to Mexico to visit the divorced vagabond father whom she idolizes cures fourteen-year-old Jessica of certain illusions and helps her reconstruct her relationship with her mother.

Pickhardt, Carl E.                                                                                        
The Case of the Scary Divorce (JUV FIC PICKHARDT)
A ten-year-old boy meets the mysterious "Professor Jackson Skye: Helping Investigator" who enlists his aid in solving eight cases, each dealing with a problem he himself is experiencing during his parents' divorce.

Shreve, Susan                                                                                                                
The Formerly Great Alexander Family (JUV FIC SHREVE)
Ten-year-old Liam is stunned to learn that his perfect family is about to be ruined when his parents announce that they are getting a divorce.

Van Leeuwen, Jean                                                                               
Blue Sky, Butterfly (JUV FIC VANLEEUWEN)
When her father leaves, Twig feels isolated from her older brother and her mother as they all try to cope with the change in their lives.

Voigt, Cynthia                                                                                                                     
A Solitary Blue (JUV FIC VOIGT)
Jeff's mother, who deserted the family years before, reenters his life and widens the gap between Jeff and his father, a gap that only truth, love, and friendship can heal.

Voigt, Cynthia                                                                                                                     
Bad, Badder, Baddest (JUV FIC VOIGT)
When fifth graders Mikey and Margalo devise a plan to prevent Mikey's parents from getting a divorce, the two friends find their scheme foiled by a new girl at school.

Williams, Vera B.                                                                                            
Scooter (JUV FIC WILLIAMS)
A child's silver blue scooter helps her to adjust to her new home.

Wilson, Jacqueline                                                                                      
The Suitcase Kid (JUV FIC WILSON)
Ten-year-old Andrea tries to deal with her parents' divorce and the presence of stepparents, stepsisters, and stepbrothers.

Young Adult Fiction

Avi                                                                                                                                  
Blue Heron (YA FICTION AVI)
While spending the month of August on the Massachusetts shore with her father, stepmother, and their new baby, almost thirteen-year-old Maggie finds beauty in and draws strength from a great blue heron, even as the family around her unravels.

Dana, Barbara                                                                                                                        
Necessary Parties (YA FICTION DANA)
Stunned when his parents' intention to get a divorce begins to tear his family apart, fifteen-year-old Chris enlists the help of an idealistic lawyer to stop them in court.

Deuker, Carl                                                                                                        
Night Hoops (YA FICTION DEUKER)
While trying to prove that he is good enough to on his high school's varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents' divorce and erratic behavior of a troubled classmate who lives across the street.

Hobbs, Valerie                                                                                                                    
Charlie’s Run (YA FICTION HOBBS)
Hoping to stop his parents' impending separation and keep them from getting a divorce, eleven-year-old Charlie runs away from their house in the California countryside and finds a ride to the coast.

LeMieux, A.C.                                                                                                           
The TV Guidance Counselor (YA FICTION LEMIEUX)
Sixteen-year-old Michael tries to deal with his parents' ugly divorce by pursuing his new obsession with photography, until an accident pushes him to the breaking point.

Mack, Tracy                                                                                                             
Drawing Lessons (YA FICTION MACK)
Twelve-year-old Rory begins to lose the passion for making art that she shares with her father after she finds him kissing his female model and fears for the safety of her parents' marriage.

Mazer, Norma Fox                                                                                                
E, My Name is Emily (YA FICTION MAZER)
With the help of her best friend, eighth grader Emily Boots begins to come to terms with her parents' divorce.

Talbert, Marc                                                                                                
Pillow of Clouds (YA FICTION TALBERT)
Angry at being forced to decide which of his divorcing parents will get custody of him, Chester is further burdened with guilty feelings about the parent he is leaving behind.

Juvenile Non-Fiction

Brown, Laurene Krasny                                                                                   
Dinosaurs Divorce  (JUV 306.89 BROWN)
Text and illustrations of dinosaur characters introduce aspects of divorce such as its causes and effects, living with a single parent, spending holidays in two separate households, and adjusting to a stepparent.

Forrai, Marcia S.                                                                                            
A Look At Divorce  (JUV 301.428 FORRAI)
Text and photographs describe problems faced by the parents and children when a divorce occurs.

Hopkins Bennett, Lee                                                                                               
Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life (JUV 811.5 HOPKINS)
Autobiographical poems capture a thirteen-year-old boy's feelings, experiences, and aspirations in one tumultuous year of his life.

Krementz, Jill                                                                                            
How It Feels When Parents Divorce  (JUV 306.89 KREMENTZ)
Boys and girls, ages seven to sixteen, share their feelings about their parents' divorce.

Lansky, Vicki                                                                                                    
It’s Not Your Fault KoKo Bear: A Read-Together Books for Parents and Young Children During Divorce (JUV 306.89 LANSKY)
KoKo Bear learns what divorce means, how to deal with changes, how to recognize and deal with feelings, and that divorce is not KoKo's fault. Each page includes tips for parents.

Mayle, Peter                                                                                                                 
Divorce Can Happen to the Nicest People  (JUV 306.89 MAYLE)
A handbook offering "reassurance, sympathy, and sound advice on how to cope with a family that's splitting up."

Prokop, Michael                                                                                              
Divorce Happens to the Nicest Kids: A Self-Help Book For Children  (JUV 646.78 PROKOP)
Discussion questions and a brief story examine many of the common concerns and feelings that frequently accompany divorce.