Always, Always

by Crescent Dragonwagon, Arieh Zeldich (Illustrator)

A child of divorced parents, who lives with her father during the summers and with her mother the rest of the year, learns to cope with their divorce

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

Crescent Dragonwagon is the daughter of the writers Charlotte Zolotow and the late Hollywood biographer Maurice Zolotow. She is the author of 40 published books, including cookbooks, children's books, and novels. With her late husband, Ned Shank, Crescent owned the award-winning Dairy Hollow House, a country inn and restaurant in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, for eighteen years. She teaches writing coast to coast and is the co-founder (with Ned) of the non-profit Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short picture book about a girl who lives with her mum and goes to stay with her dad for the summer. They divorced when she was a baby. The story shows that her parents are very different but they both love her.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book shows its age and has a dated feel, but kids will continue to relate to the storyline of having divorced parents and the complicated feelings that come with that. the overarching theme is that while her parents may live in different states, they both continue to love their child "always, always."

[Taryn Dean]

A girl spends the school year with her mom in the city but the summer with her dad in Colorado.. I will let the students compare and contrast different items.

[Kara Duncan]

ELAGSE1RL3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
Parent's Choice Award & Social Sciences Book of the Year

This is an excellent story of how a little girl juggles her life between her drastically different parents. Despite all of the differences her parents face the still show an unconditional love for their daughter, showing divorced parents can place their differences aside for the good of their daughter.

Students would be read this book as a class and this we would discuss how every family dynamic is different. After reading the book we will separate into small groups. Each group will be assigned a topic (characters, settings, etc.) to discuss in their groups. After small group discussion we would share our findings and add if need be. We could all draw our families and share (no one would be required to share) our family dynamic and how our family works for an additional activity.

[Betsy McElhannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. Always, Always by Crescent Dragonwagon
2. Awards: none for this book
3. Genre: Diversity-Inclusion
4. Setting: At home of both her mother's and father's homes in different states.
5. I could read this book to my students to help them feel more comfortable with difficult changes like divorce. Since divorce is much more common now, some students may feel like the girl in the story. Being able to relate to character may make them feel better with divorce. It will also teach students with parents that are married that some child have to alternate between parents, and its something to be sensitive about.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story for a child of divorced parents. This little girl's parents live in different states and she stays with her father in the summers. She has good relationships with both parents and the book emphasizes how much she is loved by both of them.

[Arianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Contemporary Realistic
Grade Level: 3-5
I loved that this book showed the real struggle divorce has on the children. But it also shows a child how their parents still love them despite the parents complicated relationship.