The Scarves- Daniela Bunge (2006)

This book is about a child's grandparents separating. The child sees how each grandparent experiences a range of emotions, ultimately ending up lonely. Once the child sees how much each grandparent misses the other, he knits them both a scarf and sends them notes so they can meet up and rekindle their love for one another.

I found this to be a very enjoyable book, although I have one criticism. Since separation is somewhat of a common theme in our society, this book may give children the idea that they will always be able to fix the problem. The character in the book was right in the middle of the separation and ended up bringing the grandparents back together. Even though it is a great ending to the book, it seems like it may put unrealistic expectations on a student that may be going through something similar. Although I have this criticism, I enjoyed how it was written. The language seems to be appropriate when talking about a mature subject. My favorite part about the book was the symbolism I found in the color of the illustrations. When the grandparents separate, the grandfather paints his house red and the grandmother paints her house blue. Whenever each one is mentioned, all you see is their favorite color. As the author moves on to describe them missing each other, you slowly start to see hints of the other ones color in their house. I thought this was a clever use of symbolism and I enjoyed that although it was subtle, it helped emphasis a point that was made in the text.

Even though I am slightly critical of this book, I think it could still be useful in teaching separation. I could see this book being used to explain this topic to younger elementary students. Separation is becoming more common and it is important for all students to understand. If there is a student going through this type of situation, the character is easy to relate to and they may be able to identify themselves in the story.