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The Magic Box: When Parents Can't Be There to Tuck You In
This upbeat and charmingly illustrated book contains a wealth of tips for families in which a parent is often away from home. Casey's dad has to go away for a couple of days...AGAIN! Casey hates it when his father has to travel. But this time Dad leaves behind a special gift that will help Casey cope with the absence, and with future trips as well.
A Note to Parents by Ann Rasmussen, PsyD, helps parents understand what their children are facing, reassures parents of the value of these separations, and suggests many practical techniques for helping the child before, during, and after an absence.
From the Note to
Today's children often face short separations from their parents because of far-flung work demands or family commitments. In the common chaos of family life, their reactions to parental comings and goings may be overlooked. But when parents travel, feelings usually do arise in children that are difficult for young minds to understand and express feelings that include fear, rejection, anger, helplessness, sadness, and loneliness.
Such feelings are normal and expectable. Indeed, children have such troubling feelings precisely because they love and need their parents so much. On the positive side, the brief absence of a loved one is a vital learning opportunity for children who will inevitably suffer unwanted disruptions of their closest relationships throughout their life. Where better to struggle with and learn to manage difficult feelings than in the safe, small circle of the family?
A Note to Parents by Ann Rasmussen, PsyD, helps parents understand what their children are facing, reassures parents of the value of these separations, and suggests many practical techniques for helping the child before, during, and after an absence.
From the Note to
Today's children often face short separations from their parents because of far-flung work demands or family commitments. In the common chaos of family life, their reactions to parental comings and goings may be overlooked. But when parents travel, feelings usually do arise in children that are difficult for young minds to understand and express feelings that include fear, rejection, anger, helplessness, sadness, and loneliness.
Such feelings are normal and expectable. Indeed, children have such troubling feelings precisely because they love and need their parents so much. On the positive side, the brief absence of a loved one is a vital learning opportunity for children who will inevitably suffer unwanted disruptions of their closest relationships throughout their life. Where better to struggle with and learn to manage difficult feelings than in the safe, small circle of the family?
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 8, 2011
Sederman, Marty and Epstein, Seymour. (2003). The Magic Box: When Parents Can’t Be There To Tuck You In. Washington, D.C.: Magination Press.
Annotation: For preschoolers to second graders. Karen Stormer Brooks’ illustrations are colorful and soothing to the reader. The calming effect of the illustrations helps to balance the difficult content of the story. In this story, Casey’s father often has to go away for business trips and his father came up with a special way to let him know he loves him when he is gone. Casey also comes up with a special way for his father to know that he loves him when he is gone a business trip. A note to parents, written by Ann Rasmussen is included at the back of the book to help parents and guardians use this book with their children and offer more ideas for how to hope children cope when a parent or guardian is not with them in person.
Personal Reflection: After hearing about this book in lecture, I was curious to check it out for myself. I like the book because it offers a solution to a problem that many children deal with. I like that Casey’s thoughts and feelings are realistic to how an actual might think and feel. I think that when my son is older, this book might be helpful to him when he misses his father and I hope that his father and he can create their own special thing to let each other know they love they each other.
Annotation: For preschoolers to second graders. Karen Stormer Brooks’ illustrations are colorful and soothing to the reader. The calming effect of the illustrations helps to balance the difficult content of the story. In this story, Casey’s father often has to go away for business trips and his father came up with a special way to let him know he loves him when he is gone. Casey also comes up with a special way for his father to know that he loves him when he is gone a business trip. A note to parents, written by Ann Rasmussen is included at the back of the book to help parents and guardians use this book with their children and offer more ideas for how to hope children cope when a parent or guardian is not with them in person.
Personal Reflection: After hearing about this book in lecture, I was curious to check it out for myself. I like the book because it offers a solution to a problem that many children deal with. I like that Casey’s thoughts and feelings are realistic to how an actual might think and feel. I think that when my son is older, this book might be helpful to him when he misses his father and I hope that his father and he can create their own special thing to let each other know they love they each other.
April 18, 2010
This is a good book to prepare children for a parent's trip away from home. It has a simple story about a Dad going on a short business trip and how the family adjusts to his absence. While it's not necessarily the same as a military deployment, some of the tips are still helpful for any kind of parental absence. We enjoyed the story, and with their Dad away for a few days, our girls could appreciate how the little boy feels.
May 11, 2009
This is a good book for parents who have to leave on business, a trip, or war. It does a good job handling the anger a child may have at an absent parent as well as good tips on how to deal with the absence.
October 7, 2016
Wordy and wordy. Did I mention that it was wordy?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews