Papa's House, Mama's House
Many adults believe that some subjects are ‘not for children’ and the issue of separated families is one of these. Yet children are perceptive observers who wonder and feel confused at why they or their peers do not live with both a mother and a father.
This story is about such a family; told from the voice of a child, (it) responds to children’s questions in a simple and sensitive way. It sends the message that children in ‘two homes’ are not different, nor are they loved and nurtured any less by their parents, than children in two-parent homes.
Papa’s House, Mama’s House opens the way for greater tolerance, understanding and empathy in children and adults alike.
Liane Peña-Alampay, Ph.D.
Developmental Psychologist
Ateneo de Manila University
Quezon City, Philippines
Click on the book cover picture to get your own copies of Papa's House, Mama's House.
Jean Lee "Jeanette" Patindol's book, Papa's House, Mama's House, is unique in children's literature in that it does not seek to be didactic or entertaining.
It simply embodies the feelings of a child who does not fully understand why he and his siblings have two homes. He does not question the whys and wherefores; he simply narrates how they divide the days of the week between Papa and Mama.
Hence, the poignant tone is all the more powerful and could not have been achieved by an overt portrayal of a broken home.
Regina Groyon, M.A.
former English Literature professor and Languages Dept. Chair
University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City, Philippines
