Far Apart, Close in Heart

Starred review from April 1, 2017
PreS-Gr 3-How can a family stay intact if a parent is incarcerated? This tale follows children as they deal with bullying, isolation, fear, guilt, and uncertainty. In one scene, Xavier has his face down and is worried because he needs to keep his father's incarceration a secret while he is surrounded by happy children playing outside. Later on, Xavier is able to talk to his father on the phone and stay connected-where -he doesn't have to keep secrets from his dad.- The multiple story lines show the breadth of emotions a child may feel, as when Raphael is still angry and continues to avoid talking to his mom on the phone. This important picture book functions as a guide for children to understand their emotions about an incarcerated parent, but it also works as a way for a caregiver to support the child. The line drawings, in vignettes, have a soft palette and focus on the emotions of the children. The book ends with a note to caregivers, further resources, and tips to help adults be open and understanding. VERDICT A highly recommended title that serves as an excellent entry to discuss incarceration in an age-appropriate way or as a tool for children as they work through their complicated feelings.-Karen Ginman, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2017
The subtitle of this picture book says it all.A racially and ethnically diverse sampling of children exemplify the grief and discomfort that come with losing a parent to incarceration. Lacey's scared with one of her moms in jail; Rashid's mom is in jail for the second time; both Juana's mami and her papi are in prison, so she and her siblings are spread out among foster homes. Yen has hard questions only her mother can answer, so she mails them to her. Rafael must fend off intrusive questions from the other kids. In Birtha's direct, sympathetic text and Kastelic's muted pencil-and-watercolor illustrations, these children and more evince loneliness, anger, shame, and fear. Birtha gives them sympathetic adults, such as a coach who won't let Jermaine's teammates mock him and the teacher who listens to Atian, who's been acting out. Tips on talking to children with incarcerated parents and further resources are included in the backmatter; these, combined with the direct, role-modeling text, make this book as valuable for adult readers as it is for children. The purposeful inclusion of a white child and an Asian-American child helps to dispel stereotypes, while the inclusion of African-American and Latino children reflects U.S. prison demographics. Class disparities are only hinted at; the children are not obviously well-to-do but all seem to inhabit reasonably comfortable settings. With more than 2.7 million American children experiencing the incarceration of a parent, this book is a necessary one. (Picture book. 4-8)

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