Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families

This is a useful, clear, simple book which covers all the major points for children who are living through their parents' divorce. It's good for parents to be able to read it to understand what their children are experiencing. I lost my original copy and was glad to be able to order it online. A very worthwhile purchase.

I was worried my older kids would think it was for little kids and not listen-boy was i wrong! My 12 and 9 year olds couldn’t wait to go to the next page-they were so into it I couldn’t believe it! Although the end of the book doesn’t apply to our family yet, they wanted to read the whole thing. I believe this speaks to the fact that the book speaks directly to their needs, questions, insecurities and feelings. I am so very thankful for this recommendation and want to highly recommend it if you, are sadly in the position of facing divorce. Don’t wait to read it to them after the divorce.

I am in the middle of a divorce, and I read this book to my 4- and 5-year old daughters. The reaction was fascinating. Both were powerfully affected by it. My 4-year old became very emotional and begged me to stop reading. My 5-year old, however, became very cuddly, and begged me to re-read certain sections, and asked all sorts of very important questions. All in all, it may well have been one of the most important hours in my childrens' lives. This book allowed them to face an issue that is becoming all-too-relevant in their lives, and to do it in a way that was accessible to them. Yes, my 4-year old got upset, but she NEEDED to get upset. It isn't as if those feelings weren't there already; this book gave her an outlet for her upset, and allowed her to get very sad, which she has had trouble doing until now. There have been complaints by other reviewers about some "inappropriate" subject matter, such as a picture of a mother drinking a martini. I must respectfully disagree with that reviewer. The unfortunate fact is that some parents DO drink, and this book validates the experiences of those children. Part of what is nice about this book is it does not have to be read cover-to-cover. I skipped portions that didn't apply to our situation (it discussed mom and dad going on dates, for example, and that isn't currently happening, so I didn't feel the need to cover it yet). If you are fortunate enough to be part of a family in which there is no excess drinking, you can skip that part. For the record, drinking isn't a part of my family either, but I didn't skip that section. Frankly, neither of my kids noticed the picture particularly. They were focused on things that were more pertinent to them. Overall, this is a tremendous book. I STRONGLY recommend it to anyone who is going through a divorce.

I like it over all. Didn't use everything and did not read it all to my 6 year old granddaughter. (Done with her mother's permission BTW) I recommend buying it and reading it through, and using the parts that you feel will work best for your child. It DOES provide good ideas and thought processes. And, for some children, just reading it makes a lot of sense. It's worth buying. These are tough conversations and this helps.

This book was recommended to me by my therapist. As an adult, I like the feeling of knowing I’m not alone, and seeing content that is relatable - even the not so glamorous stuff. This book does that beautifully for children who are going through divorce. Not every circumstance described in this book hits home for my littles, but a lot of it does. Even the more harsh stuff is good for kids to see that they aren’t the only ones who go through it- because those things actually happen. It’s been very cathartic for them, I feel. I’m glad they have a way to illustrate and express their feelings through this book.

This book covers many topics in age appropriate ways about divorce. I would recommend reviewing it first on case you want to skip a topic (I was caught off guard when it discussed dating, I wasn't ready to talk to my kid about that). Overall, a great book.

I wanted to buy a book for my young nephew who loves dinosaurs. His parents are going through a divorce. The content is great as are the drawings but it starts off with a glossary of terms, which is almost too much. It also goes into what it means to have stepparents and step-siblings. The kid is five. At that age, you need to answer the question: no more, no less. I purchased it anyway because I know his questions will become more advanced. I do recommend the book, I just want to give a heads up that it's a little more advanced than the pictures let on. Great read though!

I had purchased this for my own family years ago and pleased to find still in print for a gift to a friend. This is a great book to use with preschool to tweens. Different portions of the book can be used at different times; the beginning of the book at any point and the end of the book discusses events appropriate at later points in time, such as dating and even blended families. My kids' favorite part was always the pictures of the dinosaur kid experiencing the whole range of feelings- this book helped to normalize the experiences we were having in a gentle way. It was a go to book over time, as kids worked through different aspects of the process. Sorry if you are looking for a book to fit your families' nerds but if that is the case, this book is a gem.

I bought this book thinking it would have a story about divorce in it in a way that would make it easier for a child to understand. Instead there are short comic strips (one page) that talk about what it means and different consequences. This might be better for older children (8 years and above) as some of it seems too complex to be understood.

Bought a series of books to support our little one through the changes. This is NOT a good option though as it doesn't support a healthy view over divorce. The ideas are outdated and with an extra negative load. In addition this book is highly biased on portraying the female dinosaur as a yelling, alcoholic, bad mouthing character. Not recommended. Waste of money and time.

Most of these books tend to be somewhat patronising or not quite addressing issues - this one is pretty good on both scores. Most importantly, this book allows a child to ask questions to the adult reading, so that the child wont feel guilt over such questions. So the book acts as a go between - often children are worried about upsetting either parent by asking questions. Aside from that, this is gently written, sensitive and manages to insert a teeny weeny bit of humour too - which after all, is helpful, given the gravity of such family situations. Wonderful.

This is a comprehensive book which makes children feel validated in such a vunerable and sensative situation. My kids could relate and felt slightly relieved after reading this.

We were getting ready to tell our 5-year old son about our divorce and stumbled upon this. It’s a great bridge to get them understanding BEFORE you have to tell them. I recommend even if your friends or family are getting a divorce / separation, you buy this for their kids. (Best is like 3-7 ish).