My Parents Are Divorced, My Elbows...

Cochran, Bill. 2009. My Parents Are Divorced, My Elbows Have Nicknames, And Other Facts About Me. Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman. HarperCollins.

Ted is weird--no doubt about it--but not because his parents are divorced. No, that's just one little fact about Ted and his life. Here's how it starts off,

"Hi. My name is Ted and my parents are divorced. But that doesn't mean I'm weird."

Ted then goes on to mention just some of the facts that do make him seem a little weird...to outsiders at least.

Sometimes I answer the phone and pretend to be a chicken. Even I know that's just plain weird. The fact that I occasionally eat cold spaghetti sauce by the spoonful straight out of the jar? Well, I've been told that is, indeed, a bit odd. Hey, at least I use a spoon.

In between these odd little facts, Ted talks about his feelings. His thoughts on his mom and his dad and on their divorce and the custody arrangement. He talks about how the divorce has effected his life. So one page of light and breezy, turn the page for a bit heavier message.

My dad's better at helping me with my math homework, but I always seem to have the toughest math homework when I'm with Mom. My mom's better at putting bandages on me when I skin my knee, and, well, I skin my knees all the time. A lot of times I miss my mom when I'm at my dad's, and a lot of times I miss my dad when I'm at my mom's. But that doesn't mean I'm weird.

Ted offers young readers an open look at his life.



© Becky Laney of Young Readers