disclosure: we were sent this book for the purpose of review
I’ve battled depression on and off for years, luckily I avoided postnatal depression, but have friends how haven’t. I was quite intrigued to see how the subject of PND could be tackled in a children’s storybook. Well, Jen Faulkner, a Mum who has suffered PND herself has written a book doing just that – A Monster Ate my Mum. Quite an apt title for anyone who has lived through depression of any sort!
A Monster Ate My Mum is an 18-page paperback book, with lovely watercolour illustrations from Helen Braid. It tells the story of a little boy who desperately wants his Mum back – the happy, smiley Mum he once had. He confronts a number of monsters on his journey to find his Mum. Who has eaten her? Where has she gone?
I thought the subject was tackled very cleverly, and I could really relate to it myself. I was a little concerned that a nearly 4-year-old son would get rather upset about Monsters eating Mummy’s, but he took it in his stride.
The book is aimed at children from 2-12 years of age, there is a fair bit of rhyming text and my son wanted a thorough explanation of what ‘spark’ meant. I liked the fact that he was clearly thinking about what I was reading to him, even if he didn’t understand everything, yet.
Jen Faulkner can be contacted on Twitter as @MonsterAteMyMum or you can visit the blog for more information. I view A Monster Ate My Mum as a useful tool in tackling PND in the home and giving children a starting point for discussion. A Monster Ate My Mum is currently offered at a reduced price of £5.99 – you can get your copy here.
Sounds like a great book for tackling such a sensitive subject.
It’s very well done Laura, and is great for promoting a discussion.
My boys had a lot to say and a lot of questions after we read it 🙂
It’s a very good to tackle the issue isn’t it. I think it works equally as well with ‘non-post natal’ depression.
What a really interesting idea for a book and I am sure it will be a really useful book for lots of families
I love the concept of books to talk to children about things some of us may struggle with how to find the words.
Yes it’s such a good idea and I can see it being well received in a number of homes