A Place To Turn To Talk About Relocation
Where does a parent turn when relocation becomes reality to children? Dragonfly Publishing's Barklay & Eve Book series helps kids talk about their concerns with major life changes like relocation and moving to a new neighborhood, state, town, city, even a different country.
While summer is the busiest time of year for most families, it is also the most common moving season. Many families will relocate to new towns, cities, or countries, when children complete the school year, and don’t have to merge into a new school at mid-year. Although it is a time of exciting new changes, there comes a period of transition that can be difficult for children.
Children's book author, Karen Carney recognizes these issues in her book, Together We'll Get Through This, one volume in the Barklay & Eve books, a kid-friendly series featuring two dog characters that help children work through tough situations.
"Children are creatures of habit, and change can be a scary thing," Carney said. "Moving to a new home is a major life-changing event for all family members. It can be difficult for a child to cope with the constant flux of emotions, such as the feeling of excitement over the move, the sadness of leaving special friends, losing the comfort of familiar places, and worry of adaptation to a new environment."
"Often kids have difficulty communicating this mixture of emotions to their parents during these times. They can recognize that their parents can be very busy and stressed. However, it is important for parents to communicate, validate a child’s feelings, and know that it is a big adjustment for the whole family. That is why I wrote, Together We'll Get Through This, to help parents and children communicate during times of transition."
The Barklay & Eve book, Together We'll Get Through This addresses the issue of major life changes that take place during course of children's lives. From moving to divorce, Together We'll Get Through This works with children through the dog characters, Barklay & Eve. The book helps children recognize their emotions, communicate with parents and other adults, ask questions, and, above all it emphasizes that the love and support of friends and family can help them get through anything.
"The Barklay & Eve series explains facts to children, but importantly, it also opens a dialogue for children to discuss topics with the adults in their lives," said Carney. "Often, we adults get so wrapped up in our own affairs, especially during busy, important occasions like moving, we don't always recognize the needs of the little people in the family."
"The books in the series are informative and thought provoking, without being overbearing. I designed the books to deliver their topics of discussion with caring and ease, taking into account the myriad of emotions people feel during tough times.”
The Barklay & Eve collection, currently a series of eight different books, stars two dog characters, based on Carney’s real life pets, and offers adults a means to educate children about many different tough topics that nearly all children will encounter in some way. Carney, a registered nurse, licensed clinical social worker, and director of one of the only solely dedicated programs for grief and bereavement counseling, The D’Esopo Resource Center in Wethersfield, CT, continues to gather information for future books in the series.
"The characters, Barklay and Eve emphasize the importance of having the love and support of family and friends during difficult times. I believe that's the most important and beneficial message in the series," said Carney.
The Barklay and Eve books are oversized laminated coloring-books that carry a retail price of $7.95 each with all of the proceeds going to the D'Esopo Resource Center, which helps support children and adults of all ages through the grieving process.
All books in the series are written in child-friendly terms, so that children have a better understanding of perplexing life subjects. Adults are encouraged to read along with children, making the books an aid when talking to children about sensitive subjects. Some of the books include: Together We’ll Get Through This, recognizes and validates all kinds of losses that children may have, including divorce, moving, illness or death of pets and other loved ones; They're Part of the Family: Barklay and Eve Talk to Children about Pet Loss, helps children through the painful process of losing a pet. In addition other Barklay and Eve books concern cremation, the Jewish tradition of burial and mourning with an explanation of the term, “Sit Shiva,” organ and tissue donation, and others.
As a recipient of the American Cancer Society's Lane W. Adams Award, Carney has earned national recognition for clinical excellence. She has been an adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University and Southern Connecticut State University for over 10 years, teaching courses in Death and Dying, Bereavement and Aging.
In addition to the books, Dragonfly Publishing currently offers plush Barklay & Eve products, and the company is open to expansion on its plush manufacturing, as well as all other licensed product categories.
For more information on Dragonfly Publishing, Barklay & Eve, and The D'Esopo Resource Center, visit the company website at www.barklayandeve.com
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