What do you think?
Rate this book
That Missing Feeling
Helping children balance that missing feeling after their parents' divorce.
Mia’s life feels split in two after her parents get divorced — even her cat and dog now live in two separate places. When she’s at her dad’s house, Mia misses her mom’s jokes and singing. And when she’s at her mom’s house, she misses her dad’s laugh and cooking. Mia just can’t quite shake that missing feeling. Sometimes that missing feeling makes her angry. And sometimes it makes her sad.
One day when Mia visits her Grandpa, he gives her a little blue notebook saying, “ When I write about Grandma, I am sad but I am happy too. She is gone, but you are here. Life changes, and writing helps me think about these changes. My notebook is a home for my heart. ” Mia keeps her notebook wherever she goes, writing about happy and sad memories. And soon her notebook becomes a way to balance that missing feeling. And also a home for her heart.
Mia’s life feels split in two after her parents get divorced — even her cat and dog now live in two separate places. When she’s at her dad’s house, Mia misses her mom’s jokes and singing. And when she’s at her mom’s house, she misses her dad’s laugh and cooking. Mia just can’t quite shake that missing feeling. Sometimes that missing feeling makes her angry. And sometimes it makes her sad.
One day when Mia visits her Grandpa, he gives her a little blue notebook saying, “ When I write about Grandma, I am sad but I am happy too. She is gone, but you are here. Life changes, and writing helps me think about these changes. My notebook is a home for my heart. ” Mia keeps her notebook wherever she goes, writing about happy and sad memories. And soon her notebook becomes a way to balance that missing feeling. And also a home for her heart.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published January 12, 2021
18 people want to read
About the author
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
13 books110 followersAmy Ludwig VanDerwater is author of several poetry books for children including Forest Has a Song, With My Hands, Read! Read! Read!, With My Hands, Write! Write! Write!, and If This Bird Had Pockets: A Poem in Your Pocket Day Celebration. In addition, she is author of picture books Every Day Birds, Dreaming of You, That Missing Feeling, poems in many anthologies, and popular classroom blogs The Poem Farm and Sharing Our Notebooks. Her newest book is The Sound of Kindness (August 2023).
Having studied and worked at the Teachers College Writing Project at Columbia University, Amy has been an elementary school teacher (years ago and again during COVID) and is author of the Heinemann professional book Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres and co-author, with Lucy Calkins and Stephanie Parsons, of Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages. For 23 years, she has led writing workshops and has taught lessons celebrating the power and joy of words.
Amy lives on an old farm in Holland, NY with her husband, sometimes a child or two, and a handful of sweet pets. You can find her knitting, baking, or picking blackberries. Find her online at https://linktr.ee/amylvpoemfarm,
Having studied and worked at the Teachers College Writing Project at Columbia University, Amy has been an elementary school teacher (years ago and again during COVID) and is author of the Heinemann professional book Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres and co-author, with Lucy Calkins and Stephanie Parsons, of Poetry: Big Thoughts in Small Packages. For 23 years, she has led writing workshops and has taught lessons celebrating the power and joy of words.
Amy lives on an old farm in Holland, NY with her husband, sometimes a child or two, and a handful of sweet pets. You can find her knitting, baking, or picking blackberries. Find her online at https://linktr.ee/amylvpoemfarm,
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 20, 2021
Usually, society thinks a couple who get divorced were suffering before the divorce, so the separation happened for good. But is that so? For me, the person(s) who affect the most is/are kids (s). In the majority of cases, kids who were happy usually with both parents suddenly could see only one of them at a time.
The book "That Missing Feeling" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater covers one such story. Mia, a small girl, the main character of our story faces the same issue. She was going through depression due to the separation of her parents. It was her grandfather who understood the problem and gave her a creative solution. Another message that the book delivers is the habit of keeping a journal/diary.
A good read for kids.
The book "That Missing Feeling" by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater covers one such story. Mia, a small girl, the main character of our story faces the same issue. She was going through depression due to the separation of her parents. It was her grandfather who understood the problem and gave her a creative solution. Another message that the book delivers is the habit of keeping a journal/diary.
A good read for kids.
December 16, 2020
I adore this book. Even though it's a children's picture storybook, it tries to tell how children get affected when their parents separate.
Mia gets sad and misses her parents being together. It's been affecting her moods and she doesn't know how to deal with everything.
Her grandfather comes up with something to make her cope better.
And I do feel it's a very effective way to express our feelings. It will not solve everything but yes, it will give us a chance to explore our emotions and express it abd understand.
This is a sad story to say but it's some reality we cannot avoid and this book provides a good option to channel our thoughts into something manageable for us so that we can teach the kids how to cope under such conditions.
Thank you authors and the publisher for the ARC.
Mia gets sad and misses her parents being together. It's been affecting her moods and she doesn't know how to deal with everything.
Her grandfather comes up with something to make her cope better.
And I do feel it's a very effective way to express our feelings. It will not solve everything but yes, it will give us a chance to explore our emotions and express it abd understand.
This is a sad story to say but it's some reality we cannot avoid and this book provides a good option to channel our thoughts into something manageable for us so that we can teach the kids how to cope under such conditions.
Thank you authors and the publisher for the ARC.
March 22, 2021
This one really got to me. I felt the pain little Mia feels when her parents divorce. Even her dog and cat are split between households, so they can no longer play together. The loss pervades Mia’s life while she thinks back to happier times with her parents. Thankfully, her grandfather understands grief as he still misses his late wife. He teaches Mia how to write out her feelings in a journal and this helps immensely. Also helpful is the end section with tips on journaling to manage feelings. Highly recommended!
5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 12 Jan 2021
#ThatMissingFeeling #NetGalley
Thanks to the author, illustrator, American Psychological Association’s Magination Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.
5 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 12 Jan 2021
#ThatMissingFeeling #NetGalley
Thanks to the author, illustrator, American Psychological Association’s Magination Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.
January 11, 2021
Mia had that missing feeling a lot.
Sometimes that missing feeling made her angry, and she yelled
Sometimes that missing feeling made her sad, and she cried.
Sometimes Mia kept that missing feeling all to herself because she did not want to make her parents sad.
A helpful resource for children that their parents are divorced. The feelings that you have and the simple ways you can process those feelings. Mia is not alone in her feelings. She has two of everything and she misses her family the way they use to be. Her grandfather helps her with journaling and how her notebook is a home for her heart.
I was impressed with a sensitive subject and how it simplified a complex situation. At the end of the book, there are suggestions on how to keep a journal and what to use it for. I think children will find connection with Mia thus help with those feelings.
A special thank you to Magination Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
Sometimes that missing feeling made her angry, and she yelled
Sometimes that missing feeling made her sad, and she cried.
Sometimes Mia kept that missing feeling all to herself because she did not want to make her parents sad.
A helpful resource for children that their parents are divorced. The feelings that you have and the simple ways you can process those feelings. Mia is not alone in her feelings. She has two of everything and she misses her family the way they use to be. Her grandfather helps her with journaling and how her notebook is a home for her heart.
I was impressed with a sensitive subject and how it simplified a complex situation. At the end of the book, there are suggestions on how to keep a journal and what to use it for. I think children will find connection with Mia thus help with those feelings.
A special thank you to Magination Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
February 1, 2021
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater writes a story for many children whose lives have been split apart through their parents' divorce. Dear Mia has many feelings about her new life, at two different places. Even her cat and dog now live apart! When at her dad's, she misses the way her mom's jokes and throwing the yarn ball at her cat, Luna. At her mom's, she misses her dad's laugh and his cooking. She misses that former "together time", too. One day, at her grandfather's, he gives her a blue notebook and shares how it helps him remember her grandmother. Mia immediately begins to write, first drawing is one of her parents spraying each other with the hose. Morena Forza's drawings in bright colors show Mia's feelings in her journey of this time in her life, those "feel good" and "feel bad" moments that I think readers will love.
Amy's gift of a story that shows how writing in a notebook to capture treasured memories and feelings about them can help many, adults, too! She adds two pages with lots of ideas for keeping a notebook, a bonus for everyone.
March 19, 2022
Divorce is hard, especially for children. In some ways it never stops being hard. In some ways it just becomes a part of your life. In this story, Mia's grandfather shares something that helped him when he was really sad. An important book.
September 3, 2021
Mia recounts all the things she misses now that her parents are divorced and live in separate places. She has a "missing feeling" sometimes it makes her angry, sometimes it makes her sad. When her grandpa gave Mia a journal, she started drawing pictures of the great memories she had when her parents were together, like when her parents sprayed each other with a hose. Grandpa keeps a journal too and writes about Grandma, who his misses. Now, Mia takes her notebook with her to her mom's house and her dad's house and draws pictures and writes words about things she wants to remember.
Lots of children are dealing with the same thing Mia is, I love Magination press because their picture books also contain parent ideas and extension activities. The story is sweet and I love the illustrations - especially the picture of the pictures of grandma and grandpa, so sweet! A great resource for the counselors, or to help a student with this need.
Crossposted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
Lots of children are dealing with the same thing Mia is, I love Magination press because their picture books also contain parent ideas and extension activities. The story is sweet and I love the illustrations - especially the picture of the pictures of grandma and grandpa, so sweet! A great resource for the counselors, or to help a student with this need.
Crossposted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
July 23, 2021
This story is a gift to children who need to process loss or grief. Mia misses her dad when she is at her mom’s house and her mom when she’s at her dad’s. She is a little sad all the time because of “that missing feeling.” Her grandfather gives her a notebook like the many he owns and shows her how writing and drawing in those notebooks has helped him when he’s sad. Mia tries this herself to see if it helps. A great introduction to journaling for self-help and self-expression, plus the book shows children of divorce or other losses that they are not alone. Don’t miss this one!
December 15, 2020
A great book for kids who are dealing with parents being separated or going through a divorce. It helps them come to terms with it and find a way in order to cope. It’s a great read and a touching topic to look at.
*Thanks Netgalley and Magination Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
*Thanks Netgalley and Magination Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
December 17, 2020
Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 12th January 2021 - publication day!
I thought that this book was excellent.
It was well written and easy to follow and really got the point over.
It will be a great book for children who are dealing with their parents going through a separation or divorce when everything changes and their normal is no longer what it once was.
The book will help them start to come to terms with it and it gives them an idea for a different way to cope. The book covers a sensitive topic very well and it is perfectly pitched at the age group.
It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!
I thought that this book was excellent.
It was well written and easy to follow and really got the point over.
It will be a great book for children who are dealing with their parents going through a separation or divorce when everything changes and their normal is no longer what it once was.
The book will help them start to come to terms with it and it gives them an idea for a different way to cope. The book covers a sensitive topic very well and it is perfectly pitched at the age group.
It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!
December 16, 2020
A deeply emotional story about the feelings children deal with when their world is turned upside down after their parents separate. How it’s so hard to express their feelings and emotions.
This story had some really great information for young readers on how to cope with overwhelming feelings and finding a productive outlet for them. The support that the main character received from her family was also an important message.
This story had some really great information for young readers on how to cope with overwhelming feelings and finding a productive outlet for them. The support that the main character received from her family was also an important message.
March 22, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and American Psychological Association, Magination Press for a free digital copy for my review.
A helpful story about dealing with emotions through journaling. Mia is the child of divorce and doesn't know how to handle "that missing feeling". But her grandpa gives her a notebook in which to process her feelings. I think this book is a great tool to teach children about dealing with their emotions.
A helpful story about dealing with emotions through journaling. Mia is the child of divorce and doesn't know how to handle "that missing feeling". But her grandpa gives her a notebook in which to process her feelings. I think this book is a great tool to teach children about dealing with their emotions.
March 23, 2021
Mia is a precious young girl who has parents who are separating. Mia loves her parents and lives with both parents; however, she finds herself missing the family unit when her family all lives together. Mia’s grandfather gives her a notebook and introduces her to journaling so that she has a safe place to write and draw about her feelings. This is perfect to use to help discuss separation, divorce, and child custody arrangements with children.
March 31, 2021
A little girl describes how her life has changed and what she's missing now that her parents are divorced. Her grandfather shows her that she can express her emotions and learn to live with her new reality by detailing it in a journal. I like the idea of presenting this to a child who is struggling and may need someone to relate to.
October 17, 2023
This book talks through Mia's "Missing Feeling", or how she feels when she thinks about her parents separation. Mia starts journaling with her grandfather, and forms healthy habits around processing her feelings. A good book on divorce for elementary school readers.
February 15, 2021
Mia's journaling helps her cope with the negative feelings she experiences from her parents' divorce. Includes helpful tips to children for keeping a journal.
April 24, 2021
This was really good!
January 3, 2021
I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
I absolutely loved this! As a person that had divorced parents as a child I can really relate to what it depicted in this, and I felt like it dealt with that sense of loss of a "whole family" in a good way. I also really liked how the whole book has spreads that are divided into two, but when things start to go better for her it suddenly becomes one big picture towards the end. It's great that it encourages reflection and using a diary to do so, since this is a key tool when it comes to dealing with feelings.
Overall a really good picture book that I would recommend to anyone!
I absolutely loved this! As a person that had divorced parents as a child I can really relate to what it depicted in this, and I felt like it dealt with that sense of loss of a "whole family" in a good way. I also really liked how the whole book has spreads that are divided into two, but when things start to go better for her it suddenly becomes one big picture towards the end. It's great that it encourages reflection and using a diary to do so, since this is a key tool when it comes to dealing with feelings.
Overall a really good picture book that I would recommend to anyone!
September 8, 2022
Presents the story of one child working through the upheaval of her parent's divorce, and her Grandpa's helpful hint to use a notebook. Back matter includes ideas for starting your own notebook.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews