Children’s book for kids with high-conflict parents

ISLAND HOPPER

Hoppy is a young penguin who lives with both parents on two different islands. Hoppy enjoys both parents but feels especially comfortable with one over the other. They are very different and Hoppy has to learn to love them both in a way that works for Hoppy and keeps the peace. Hoppy’s best friend Stitch is there to help along the way and has some excellent suggestions that become Hoppy’s great solutions for navigating life with two very different parents.

This story is meant to illustrate for children the feelings and thoughts they may have toward their parents but are not allowed to talk about. It illuminates the emotional abuse that can occur when a child is accomodating a parent’s unhealthy, narcissistic needs over the child’s own needs. And most importantly, it allows the child, Hoppy, to be successful in finding adaptive ways to enjoy both parents, including the unhealthy one, and develop a narrative that is aligned with his/her own thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

The book is gender-neutral to allow the child to project onto the characters whomever they may represent in their own family.

There is a Parent Guide and Helpful Tips that explain for the adult reader what is happening psychologically and aims to increase understanding of the child’s experience as well as the mental illness that often drives the difficult behaviors in the unhealthy parent.