Bibliotherapy & Divorce Books
…for kids under 8
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One of the first things I googled once I had made the decision to reconfigure our family and get a divorce was “kids books about divorce” and let me tell you, did I spend a boatload of money on these books! Some of them had weird messages or REALLY SPECIFIC divorce stories; others were just not accurate to our situation or too complicated or confusing to understand. Yet others had the most old school divorce messages or ones that weren’t so culturally relevant.
I’m not saying the 5 books on this list are perfect for everyone, but of the ~20 books that I vetted on this topic, these are my favorites for kids under 8.
The first two books are just about being away from a parent - so they’re great for any kid with difficulties separating - universal design if you will! Great for kindergarten or preschool back to school transitions (especially The Kissing Hand) and for sleeping in your own room (The Invisible String, especially).
The other 3 are divorce/separation specific. One of my favorite pro tips about these divorce and separation-themed books is, if your child isn’t reading yet, you can skip words and pages that don’t feel right to you. It’s totally fine to do this, y’all!
It’s hard to know what to do when someone you care about is going through a divorce. ONE AWESOME thing you can do is get them/their kids one of the books on this list. If you want to be safe and steer away from “too much divorce talk” in the books, I highly recommend Two Homes, The Kissing Hand or the Invisible String, the latter two of which are about being away from a parent at any time, not just divorce, so they can live on in a book collection for years to come!
Let me save you some time and money, here’s my short list of favorites!
Two Homes, Claire Masurel
This is my absolute favorite divorce and separation book for this age group. It’s so concrete, it’s so simple and goes through how the child in the story has one of each (bedroom, bathroom, etc) in each parent’s home. Hands down, the simplest, best book if you’re going to buy just one. It was the first divorce book I previewed for my daughter where I felt a sigh of relief reading it and felt “gosh, this is exactly what we need.” Even now, I add it back into our rotation and times and when we meet other kids who have “two homes” we use this simple idea to help show commonality “Hey did you know JANE has two homes just like you?!”
When My Parents Forgot How To Be Friends, Jennifer Moore-Mallinos
A bit more detailed than Two Homes, this book helps kids understand why their parents aren’t living together from the perspective of them not being “Friends” for a while after the separation. I think this concept is very appropriate for under 8s and is much easier to understand than other divorce books I’ve seen.
Why Do Families Change?, Dr. Jillian Roberts
I like that this book is simple, yet broken down by questions; you could read one or two questions at a time and talk about it or read through the whole thing relatively quickly. It’s easy to understand and you can skip the questions you’re not ready for yet!
The Kissing Hand, Audrey Penn
I love that this book is great for any kid separating from parents, especially if they’re nervous about a school transition. It gives a concrete strategy/tool and the version I’m linking here comes with stickers!
The Invisible String, Patrice Karst
I like that this book addresses anyone you might be far away from, separated from even just a short distance like from your bedroom! Great for back to school transitions, divorce/separation and also just “I’m scared to sleep in my own room” situations!
Happy reading!