Wicked Stepmother and the Cinderella Syndrome

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The Not So Wicked STEPMOTHER

from the Author

As one who has experienced the role of stepmother twice, I can assure you that it is a role one must give careful consideration. You are not only making a commitment to your partner, but also to his children. As a stepmother, I had always searched unsuccessfully for a children's book depicting stepfamilies in a positive way. Something to erase the indelible image of the "wicked" stepmother in the story Cinderella. I wanted them to have confirmation that not ALL stepmothers are mean and indifferent. Much to my dismay, I was never able to present them with anything tangible. And so, these frightened children were left to battle the situation with very little reassurance of a positive outcome. Finally, I decided to put teaching on the back burner and do something about this dilemma. I would write a children's book on a subject I knew something about and felt that children, divorced singles with children, and stepparents desperately needed. My hope is that those who read The Not So Wicked Stepmother will come away with a positive attitude about stepfamilies, and some ideas about how to make them successful. Leslie Venable

About Leslie Venable
Leslie Venable was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1960. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology in 1986 from the University of Alabama and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. She taught 3rd and 5th grades in the public school system in Birmingham, Alabama before becoming a writer/publisher of children's books. Using her experiences from both teaching and counseling children, she conveys some of the problems they most... read more

Book Description
Olivia & Maria are two young sisters who are coping with the recent divorce of their parents. Later, when their dad begins dating again, the sisters decide to make sure he's dating someone who is right for them too. When Dad does meet that someone, Olivia and Maria are happy. Then Dad announces his plan to remarry. Now the girls must cope with the experience of having a stepmother. Will she be like the wicked stepmother in the story, Cinderella?

Review:

I am a step-mother who is the luckiest woman on earth! I enjoy true love with my step-daughter, but have always been aware of the many pitfalls of being a step-parent. This book, The Not So Wicked Stepmother, A Book for Children and Adults, addresses all the most immediate reactions of a child facing the upheaval of "two" homes, parental dating, and how everything got so "weird". It helps that the author herself has literal experience with the dynamic, and it shows. The books shows the harshest changes a divorce can create - Dad moving out, the "new" home which must be created for him to share with his children, and all the feelings of anxiety that can visit children; how to sleep at night in a strange place, belongings split between two residences, etc. When Dad starts to explore a new social life with female companions, each step is explored in the most heartfelt, and comic, way. There is a very realistic ending that shows happiness and acceptance to new life and new loves.

Most children react suspiciously to strangers these days, none the least of which, may actually become a part of your family! I would recommend this book for Dad's to read to their children BEFORE the dating process has begun, and if possible, before leaving the home they share with their children. My husband and I searched high and low for a book as entertaining, realistic and sympathetic to new beginnings as this one, and wish we had found it sooner. The illustrations will keep your children's attention even when the text hits uncomfortably close to home. My step-daughter was seven when she got this book and it is still one of her favorites. She loves me to read it to her before bedtime, and laughs at the antics of the daughters in the story. I sincerely hope the author writes additional books exploring the subject. This book is worth your purchase - I doubt you will be disappointed. March 30, 2000 Elizabeth Walsh from Woodhaven, NY

Not so Wicked StepMother $15.95  plus $4.95 for S&H