This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite
Mommy’s Imaginary Friend is a children’s book written by Jessika Anne Allsop and illustrated by Melissa Mae. A young boy has endless fun as he plays with his imaginary friend, Leon. Leon is a unique dog which always loves to play games. The boy’s mother also has an imaginary friend, Marvin, but her imaginary friend is not fun at all. When Marvin is around, the boy’s mother cries a lot. Some days, Marvin makes her stay in bed all day. Other days, Marvin makes her want to watch movies and cry some more. The only thing that makes Leon feel bad is Marvin. Every time Marvin visits with the boy’s mother, the child wraps his arms around her and shouts at Marvin to go away and leave her alone. Those hugs make some days a little bit brighter. Sometimes the boy’s mother visits a therapist, who tells her how to keep Marvin from disrupting her life. No matter whether Marvin is there or not, the boy’s mother never forgets to hug her son and tell him (and Leon) how much she loves them both.
With depression being such a complex issue, it is difficult for children to perceive the damage it does to the people that they love. Helping them to visualize the depression as a mean, disruptive imaginary friend is the easiest way for a child to understand. Jessika Allsop’s well-written tale presents a clever way to explain to young children about when a grown-up suffers from depression. All of their love and hugs make the day a little bit brighter, as it chases Mommy’s Imaginary Friend away, even if just for a little while. Portraying depression as Marvin allows children to visualize the illness in terms that they might understand, while also showing the child that they will forever be loved, and depression will never change that.
The illustrations are quite clever, and are drawn in such a way that it brings the whole story to life, assisting in the visualization process while explaining what depression is. I am impressed by the intriguing concept presented within this book and recommend Mommy’s Imaginary Friend to school, kindergarten, hospital and home libraries so that it might be read to children aged 3-8 years of age, helping them to understand this debilitating illness.
