#RWYK Great Read #Review – “Love Grows and Grows” written by Shannon Forster & Illustrated by Alexandra Zgondea
Hello there,
Please join us in welcoming our brand NEW Reading with Your Kid Certified Great Read into our library of some of the most entertaining and educational children’s books. Love Grows and Grows: A Blooming Story for an Extended Family by Shannon Forster!
Our aim is to introduce books that can be a great conversation starter no matter how tough the subject is. And today we’re delighted to introduce one such book that deals with a heavy subject of divorce and how kids feel when the blended families are formed.
Love Grows and Grows introduces the reader to all of the good that can emerge from what may seem like yet another challenge of a lifetime– welcoming a new co-parent into a divorced family unit.
We hope you and your family enjoy reading it as much as we did!
Let’s have a look at the Book Blurb
Love Grows and Grows: A Blooming Story for an Extended Family by Shannon Forster
Love Grows and Grows is a flourishing story for an extended family that illustrates a healthy and collaborative approach to shared parenting. Designed as hybrid flowers of humans, the characters themselves are a metaphor for growth and evolution towards love. The story follows the young siblings Flora and Leaf as they move into a new and unknown life between two homes: one with mom and one with dad and his new wife.
Their journey highlights the challenges associated with the creation of extended families: a child’s concern to meet someone new and, finally, choose to accept and embrace this person as part of their secular family. With love and patience, we see a mother and stepmother represent a wonderful example of how to put their children first, working together to create a mixed family with happy and confident children. This example of unconditional love is what allows Flora and Leaf to adopt a new definition of the typical family and cultivate a new “normal” that benefits all involved. I am honored that critics have already deemed Love Grows and Grows to be “revolutionary”, referring to my work as “one of the most beautiful stories ever told”. While the book refers to expanding families post-separation, the lessons taught here are applicable to all contemporary family dynamics. Love Grows and Grows in an invaluable resource to anyone who is uncoupling and has young children. This book introduces the reader to all of the good that can emerge from what may seem like yet another challenge of a lifetime– welcoming a new co-parent into a divorced family unit. This book has become a priceless tool useful in accompanying a child through his or her journey of becoming a blended family.
Love Grows and Grows is sold on Amazon, and Shannon’s website: Lovegrowsandgrows.com
To buy your copy of Love Grows and Grows: A Blooming Story for an Extended Family, visit https://amzn.to/2UX0cRd
About the Author
Shannon graduated with honors, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Psychology. She is also ESOL certified. Shannon devotes her spare time to fundraising in the non-profit sector as well as serving as a Girl Scout Troop leader. Possessing a strong desire to help others and innate ability to connect, Shannon looks forward to completing her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT). Shanon’s personal experience of separation and divorce resulted in the gift of her own extended family and served as the inspiration for writing this book. She considers her family to be the most important part of her life. Shannon lives in Weston, Florida. She is wife to Christian and mother to Ryan, Connor, and Madison. She is also forever grateful for her bonus son, Max.
To learn more about Love Grows and Grows, visit Shannon Forster’s website
Our Review
“A Unique picture book for younger children that explores the challenges of stepfamilies”
This attractive book, written by Shannon Forster, a minor in Psychology, is a sweet story that shows that ALL types of families are special!
As per the reports, approximately one million new stepfamilies are created every year in America and traveling between families is something many stepchildren know all too well. Love Grows And Grows: A Blooming Story For An Extended Family follows the life of young siblings Flora and Leaf, as they adjust to being part of a blended family. They visit their father and his new wife, Daisy, for the first time. Their stepmother Daisy is kind and friendly as she welcomes them into their new home. She prepares Flora’s favorite meal honey toasted sandwich, with sun chips on the side, invites her best friends for a play date and includes her in cleaning the house, however, Flora struggles with whether or not to love her and accept her with an open heart.
Divorce can be a hard adjustment for children. When parents remarry, the adjustment becomes more complicated. It takes time to get used to living in a blended family or stepfamily. Kids have a lot of questions. Their emotions might be up and down, and understanding what is happening around them can be very confusing. But in this picture book by Shannon Forster, Flora soon realizes that this change isn’t so bad. With the help of her loving mother Rosa, she is finally able to accept and embrace the extended love from her stepmother, and learns that Love Grows and Grows…it is unlimited. The more flowers you add to a garden, the more beautiful it becomes. There is a beautiful song included in the book that emphasizes the idea that love limitless.
The book wonderfully describes all the feelings little Flora experiences during her visit. The nervousness, excitement, anger, and uncertainty that the visit brings. This was totally adorable and perfect for bridging that middle-grade gap when addressing the types of issues stepfamilies face. This is a helpful resource for parents to start a conversation on how kids feel about having stepparents, and to guide their children as they adjust to new family members and dynamics. The book will help stretch hearts, minds, and homes past the image of “perfect” and another “happily ever after” into the hope of God’s promise to restore, heal and rebuild.
The illustrations by Alexandra Zgondea are simply gorgeous! They are nothing like what we have seen in children’s books we have read and reviewed so far. All the characters are styled as human-hybrid flowers; which are a metaphor for growth and the evolution towards love.
Final Verdict
We love that Love Grows and Grows addresses that complexity of stepfamilies in an honest and thought-provoking way. Children’s fears, worries, and questions about this difficult experience are made accessible and approachable. This book will help promote interaction among children, parents, and teachers on an issue that affects many families.
We found this book to be an extremely effective resource for parents and children.
Congratulations to Shannon Forster for winning the RWYK Certified Great Read Status
A big thank you to author Shannon Forster for providing us a free copy of her book through Reading with your Kids certified program. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely our own.
In case, if you’ve missed, Be sure to check out Shannon’s appearance on the podcast!
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HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY 😆
