My Bonus Mom: Taking the Step Out of Stepmom

By: Tammi Butcher
Illustrated By: Feras Nouf
Publisher: Little Five Star
Publication Date: August 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58985-081-1
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: August 2011

With a lovely foreword by Bill Engvall, this book does a truly fantastic job of showing the very real situation of having a step-parent come into a child‘s life. With each and every page, the author walks readers through the life of three young girls who are ‘hearing’ within their house the strains of arguments that they simply do not understand.

Mom and Dad, however, love their children with all their hearts, and the author explains the fact that, just because two adults can not seem to see eye-to-eye, that does not mean that the children are responsible for any of the problems that are going on.

The girls soon find out what it means to have two parents who don’t live together. Some of the fun things mentioned of course, are two birthday parties, two Christmas celebrations, etc., but the kids are also extremely happy that Mom and Dad show their love and respect for them at all times.

But what happens when a stranger…an outsider comes into that little group? Unfortunately, because the divorce rate is so high in this country, many children are facing issues such as the Stepmom or Stepdad becoming a part of their parents’ lives. In this story, meeting and coming to know the stepmom is a bit of a struggle for the girls. They learn that she is not a replacement “mom,” she is simply a new friend who will care for their father, make him happy, and not infringe on the time they all have together. In fact, it’s simply a lovely way of looking at making a loving family even bigger; a larger support network for the children

The author has done a supremely wonderful job of creating a book that parents and children will both be able to understand and use as a helpful guide during a very trying time. The illustrations are also state-of-the-art, as each individual’s face truly expresses the rainbow of emotions that come along with the very difficult subjects of love, marriage, and divorce.

Quill Says: A perfect book for a not-so-perfect moment in life.