Beth Goff

I like how this book helps young readers understand what divorce is. When I was a child, my parents also got a divorce and I remember being very confused as to why my dad was moving out of our house. It's very hard for anyone to go through a divorce, and this story explains to children what a divorce is. However, I do not like that the book made divorce look like such a negative thing. The author described how upset the daughter and dog were because her daddy never came home to play with show more them. As the parents fought in the book, the author wrote "The anger between them made a pain inside her, and she cried and cried." The book inferred that divorce is a very negative thing to occur. I believe the author should have put something positive about divorce in this book to allow the readers to see that there are positive things that come from divorces. The central message in this book is how families are affected by divorce.

Summary: Janey and her dog, Funny, were really close to their dad. They always had a blast while they played together. However, her dad started to be angry with Janey when she made too much noise and would not play with her anymore. One morning, Janey woke up and her daddy was no longer home. Her mom did not tell her when her daddy would be coming back. Janey immediately knew something was wrong. After days of not seeing her daddy, he came to take her to the beach while mommy stayed home with Funny. Her dad tried explaining to Janey that him and her mommy were getting a divorce. She didn't fully understand what a divorce was, but knew it was bad. Janey, Funny, and her mommy had to move in with her grandma. Janey and Funny did not like living with their grandma. Her mommy then got a job and Janey was angry that she was leaving like her daddy did. Janey then thought that her mommy and daddy were leaving her because she was angry and bad. So Janey stopped talking all together because she didn't want anything bad to happen. One day, Janey went outside to play with Funny and Funny did not immediately come to Janey. Therefore, Janey hit Funny because he left her like mommy and daddy did. After mommy saw her daughter hit Funny, she realized why Janey had been acting so weird. Mommy reassured Janey that she would be home after work and would never leave her forever. Grandma also became nicer and more understanding for Janey and her dog, Funny. In the end of the book, her dad came again to take Janey to the zoo. Finally, Janey was able to understand everything and be happy again. show less

When a young girl wakes to find that her father is no longer around, she learns about divorce and works through the fear of not know where she belongs.
Age: 3-8 years
Source: Pierce County Library System

Janie is a little girl who's parents are going through a divorce. They don't exactly tell her that they are and try to keep it quiet. Janie feels that it's her fault and goes through the story wondering why this happened.

Ages: 3-6
Source: Pierce College Library

"Where is Daddy?"is about Janie girl and her parents going through a divorce. Janie is struggling with her parents getting a divorce and doesn't understand where her dad is going and when he will be back. Her mom starts to explain to her that she will never leave her, no matter what happens between her an her dad. Janie realizes at the end that she will be okay because both her mom and dad are making an effort to be in her life equally.