When You Left is a picture book for 4- 8 year olds, and explores the theme that when parents break up and one parent moves on, it’s okay to have muddled feelings. A child’s parents split up and a new parent, Alex, has come on the scene. While the child desperately wants their parents to get back together and wants to dislike the new parent, there is a realisation that the sadness gets better, there can be room to love another parent and that the future can look hopeful.
This gentle and sensitive story will help young readers make sense of their challenging feelings during a parental breakup. I loved the descriptive links to the ocean like, 'The tide has gone out on her sadness.'