| Gina Maria Sanfilippo |
| Jack the Husky Dog: When Your Friend’s Parents Get Divorced by Gina Maria Sanfilippo Jack the husky dog and his best friend Frankie are struggling to face all the changes happening to their family. Frankie’s parents are getting divorced and Jack is doing all he can to help Frankie understand and adjust to all the changes that divorced families typically experience. With Jack’s help, Frankie realizes that although his new life post divorce is very different than before, different can be ok too. With the additional love and support he receives from his husky dog Jack he is able to find the courage and understanding to accept his new life. |
| I grew up in a family with seven kids. My father passed when I was eleven, and my mother’s ability to raise us as a single parent was tremendous to observe. As I became a parent myself, I was able to draw on those observations and apply that same courage I saw in my mother to the way I raised my own children. I too am a single parent, of two children, but my single parent status was by choice, through divorce. My many life altering experiences have shaped the person I have become through the challenges that God has sent my way. My strong values and a lot of prayer have carried me forward in the face of adversity over and over again. It was those experiences that have been incorporated into my children’s books, along with current concerns for children that produced “real issue” stories and character building solutions. Add in my love for dogs, especially a Siberian husky dog named Jack, and you have a new series of books, original, helpful, real and respectful to both the characters and readers alike. I have a master’s degree from Washington University School of Business in St. Louis, Missouri and still seek out additional educational opportunities whenever I can. I truly love writing stories that can help and inspire children. I hope the messages that are offered in my stories will provide some level of understanding, peace and hope for all the children and parents who are able to read them. |
| This is a matter-of-fact approach to dealing with the turmoil families can go through during divorce. It is non-judgmental and uses a Husky dog as a helper-dog for a boy and his emotions. Talking to the dog and explaining what the boy understands is an excellent way of helping young ones understand what divorce means to them without putting them on the spot. The book gives examples of how one may ask for help from Heavenly Father with appropriate prayerful wishes. The text is presented in rhyme. What is touchingly a flash of the blinding obvious is how kids going through their parents’ divorce proceedings and beyond suddenly find themselves owning two of many things, a set of essentials for each household. We rated this a solid four hearts HEARTLAND REVIEWS |
| Jack the Husky Dog: When Your Friend Loses a Parent by Gina Maria Sanfilippo Jack the husky dog and his friend Maria face loses together when Maria’s father dies suddenly one summer. Maria is a young girl of 11 years of age dealing with one of life’s most difficult challenges, the death of a parent. She goes from experiencing a normal childhood with a normally present mother and father to almost instantly having to accept and assume the role of a child being raised solely by her mother, now a single parent. Jack the husky dog serves as her friend and coach as she finds her way through the many stages of grieving. This book is meant to be read with parent and child together and can serve as a talking aid for parents and children to discuss and understand the emotions felt before, during and after the death of a parent as experienced by and from the child’s perspective. With the additional love and support she receives from her husky dog Jack she is able to find the courage and understanding to accept her new life circumstances difficult as that may be. |
| Bob and Barb Spear, Owners The Book Barn 410 Delaware Leavenworth, KS 66048 (913) 682-6518http://www.abookbarn.com Title: Jack the Husky Dog: When Your Friend Loses A Parent Author: Gina Mario Sanfilipo Illustrator: Nicolas Peruzzo Publisher and/or Distributor: Mirror Publishing Publisher Website: http://www.http/pagesofwonder.com/ Pages: 28 ISBN: ISBN 978-1-61225-150-9 Price: $9.99 Publishing Date: 2012 Reader: Bob Spear Rating: 5 hearts This outstanding picture book helps children deal with the death of a parent. Jack the Husky Dog is a good listener and offers sound advice to his mistress when her father does not survive a surgery. Having a dog give the advice on how to deal with the emotions children inevitably experience makes it somehow more acceptable since pets are more accepting and less judging. Jack walks a little girl through the grieving process, addressing the need for spiritual support along the way. The pictures are clear and supportive of the text. This is an important book in a series that addresses common children’s values. We rated it five hearts. Illustrations= 5 Text=6 Connectivity= 6 Characterization= 6 Subject= 6 Total= 29 \30 = 97%= 5 Hearts Heart Scoring Percentages 1 heart= < 44% 2 hearts= 44% 3 hearts= 60% 4 hearts= 85% 5 hearts= 95% |
| Jack the Husky Dog Encounters a Bully by Gina Maria Sanfilippo Jack the Husky Dog and his friends Lucy and Mattie encounter a bully on their walk to school. The bully attempts to bully Jack with no success. He then immediately preys on Mattie, Jack’s small husky dog friend. Mattie is afraid to defend herself and seems powerless against the bully’s bad treatment of her. Jack steps in to defend his friend. He is quick to make sure the bully understands his bad behavior will not be tolerated and he must stop. The bully does stop and the three friends finally make it to school grateful to be safe again. Jack the Husky Dog Books are meant to be read with the parent and child together. Jack the Husky Dog Encounters a Bully can serve as a talking aid for adults and children to discuss the topic of bullying, including the need for children to tell someone if they encounter a bully. |
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| "Jack the Husky Dog: When Your Friend's Parents Get Divorced," is a self help book dealing with the issue of divorce designed for children ages 4-12 years. Partly told from the viewpoint of the Husky dog, Jack who belongs to a boy named Frankie, "Jack the Husky Dog, When Your Friend's Parents Get Divorced" observes and explores the confusing feelings and experiences of a boy whose parents separate and then divorce. Frankie has to get used to many changes, such as living in two homes, keeping a different schedule, and having different toothbrushes, meals, and routines during the weeks while he is with his mother from the alternate weeks when he is with his father. In all this change, Jack is a constant, steady, reassuring presence to Frankie. Although he cannot bring his parents back together again, the important things in Frankie's life will be taken care of. When he prays with Jack at night, his request is eventually the same: "Dear God and all those in heaven above, Bless my mom and dad and all others we love. Amen" Frankie learns that although divorce is change and an ending of the marriage, it is not an ending of the family. Best of all, Frankie learns that he can talk to Jack about anything that worries him and Jack will always lend a paw to help.................................Midwest Book Review |