I feel fortunate that I have never personally experienced burglary. Chris has not been so lucky 🙁 and one of Matthew’s school friends was burgled earlier this year.
The impact on children can be somewhat greater than we imagine. Children live in a world of simple opposites and definite answers. But the things that happen to us in our everyday lives are often more difficult to categorise.
Diana Batchelor’s book deals with the aftermath of a burglary and the various effects that it has on the different characters. It helps children to be confident when expressing their feelings and demonstrates that it is best to talk about your emotions rather than trying to cope on your own (wise words for adults as well as children!).
In this book the police do not catch the burglars and this may be difficult for children to understand as in their world of absolutes the baddies always get caught, yet in the real world this is much less likely.
The illustrations are bright and colourful so all three of my children were able to experience the book together. The text is easy to understand and the concept of the favourite things is just lovely (but I won’t reveal more and spoil the surprise…)
‘Who’s Been In Our Tree?’ has been written for children but also includes advice for parents at the end. It has been sponsored by You & Co which is the youth division on Victim Support.
The section at the end of the book offers techniques for parents to help children through difficult experiences (not just the aftermath of a burglary). A clinical psychologist was involved in the devising of the tips for helping children which includes a relaxation exercise for releasing tension.
My children were able to fully enjoy the book and empathise with the characters even though they have no personal experience of burglary, yet ‘Who’s Been In Our Tree?’ has the ability to really help little ones cope with difficult emotions and life events.
Diana has kindly offered one copy of ‘Who’s Been In Our Tree?’ for my readers: enter the competition below!
Win a copy of ‘Who’s Been In Our Tree?’ by Diana Batchelor
Please note this competition is only open to UK residents.
*I was gifted a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All opinions and photos are my own.
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