One Day at a Time
Rachel Ip and Natalle Quek
Hodder Children’s Books

Robin and Poppy couldn’t be happier with their family life; their days are full of fun and adventuring together. And every springtime the children and their parents plant sunflower seeds together and watch them grow and bloom in the summertime. Then one summer Daddy tells the children that their parents are separating and will be living in different homes.. “We’ll always be a family, and we’ll always love you,” Dad reassures them. Poppy and Robin don’t want this to happen but despite the tears and talking, and the hugs, happen it does.

As you would expect both brother and sister are emotionally mixed up;

they also show this in different ways. Robin shares his worries with his friends at school whereas Poppy keeps everything to herself.

Both of them though ask their parents lots of questions and they all choose sunflower blooms to take to their parents’ new homes. Homes that are very different too.

Come the following spring Robin finds the dried out sunflower heads in the garden shed; they are absolutely full of seeds and give them an idea. Before long they have more than enough to sow in both mum’s and dad’s gardens. Little by little both Poppy and Robin have accepted their new way of life and realise that they will be okay; They are able to laugh more, hug more and of course, there is more than enough love for everyone; after all they are still a family no matter what.
A sensitively written and illustrated story that is full of hope and love, a story that offers an optimistic view of separation. However Poppy and Robin are fortunate in the way their parents separate; not all families are so amicable; indeed some children’s parents are downright hostile toward each other and this takes its toll on their offspring.

Also about changes in family circumstances is:

Roots of Love
Sarah Asuquo and Ruthine Burton
Scholastic

Subtitled Families Change, Love Remains, this story starts with a happy little girl, Tia who has just enjoyed the best day at school ever. But that evening after dinner her mother tells her to leave her project about her family and come and join a talk with her mum and dad. She knows they have been keeping something a secret recently and realises quickly that this isn’t going to be cheerful chat. Instead she learns that her parents are going to separate and that her dad will move out. “We’re still a family, we’re just changing to something new,” her mum tells her. Devastated little Tia rushes upstairs and cries herself to sleep.

Next day at school her class are to present their projects about families; inevitably Tia is worried about how her classmates will react to what she says. However what she hears from some of her friends about the variety of families they have, surprises, reassures and empowers her, enabling her to share her project too.

Using the apt metaphor of a tree Tia explains how her family has changed.

Ultimately reassuring, Sarah Asuquo’s story with its inclusive illustrations by Ruthie Burton is one for KS1 class collections as well as for sharing with individuals.