Disclaimer: I received a copy of My Dad Got Hurt, What Can I Do? in exchange for this impartial review.
The potential for injury is very real to military families. With over 15 years of constant battle engagement behind us, many families are impacted by their service member’s war wounds.
Even when the scars aren’t visible, many veterans and active duty troops still must work to heal their interior injuries.
My Dad Got Hurt, What Can I Do, by the National Academy of Neuropsychology Foundation, is the perfect resource to help families and support networks help the whole family when a service member is injured.
I really enjoyed reading this book! It has colorful illustrations and easy to access text. Children will find the concepts in the book easy to understand and relate to. All military families understand what happens when a parent deploys or is away for a long period of time. For families currently working through traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and other personality alerting injuries, the scenarios in this book will ring true.
This is a great book to read aloud to little ones or for older children (second grade +) to read alone. Whether alone or together, parents or another adult should remain on hand to answer questions. Children would benefit from being guided into applying the lessons in the book to their own lives.
The author, Brunella Costagliola, and illustrator, Valerio Mazzoli, really worked together to bring this story to life. The family, Mom, Dad, Jackson, Isabella, and their pup Sally are so relatable. It feels like they are a military family you might know. There is no “reach” to make things more “real.” Everything is presented very simply and cleanly.
During the last part of the book, readers learn about how TBIs and other brain injuries can affect personality. Again, everything is explained briefly and simply, but there is never any “down talking” to make it feel childish.
The takeaway lessons from this book are easy to use and work for all ages. My Dad Got Hurt, What Can I Do? can truly help children of wounded warriors process their new normal. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book!
I think that it should be in all schools on or near military bases, just for starters. Getting this book into the hands of professionals in education and mental health who work with the children of injured troops would go a long way to helping the whole family heal.
Buy your copy of My Dad Got Hurt, What Can I Do? at Barnes & Noble.
How has your family coped with your service member’s injury? Share your best tips in the comments.
~Meg
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