"It's not YOUR Fault, Koko Bear"

"We are meant to picture the four - year - old nestled in mommy's lap. while she non - judgmentally explains why it is that daddy dyed his hair, left home and is shacking up with his tennis coach ..."

Snippet from "Diogenes" column in the Last Word page of The Catholic World Report, July 2011.

"Emancipation from religious authority produced in its wake a litter of thumb - sucking books ostensibly designed to help children deal with the consequences of their parents' brave quest for self - fulfillment, most notably the anguish of divorce.

"We are meant to picture the four - year - old nestled in mommy' lap while she reads from, say Dinosaurs Divorce, and non - judgmentally explains why it is that daddy dyed his hair, left home, and is shacking up with his tennis coach

"The text communicates two key messages: the comforting truth that the child is not to blame ("It's not YOUR fault, Koko Bear"), and the comforting falsehood that, in spite of their separation, mommy and daddy love each other more than ever.

"The real point of the book is to assuage the parents' guilt, not the child's.....'

Good points, maestro! :)