Our Thoughts

This is the type of book (graphic novel) that could be a good candidate to read together with your child. As you will see above there are quite a few teaching moments that come up. We decided to leave this as Recommended title because the behavior is shown as wrong, Maggie realizes that, is sorry and it is addressed by the parents. It is important as a parent to ensure your child walks away seeing much of Maggie’s behavior as wrong and something she learns from. This can be a really valuable resource if your child has a medical condition or something similar that limits what they are able to do. Another potential teaching moment comes when Maggie says, ”How could something that made me so happy make me sick?” A question often asked in one form or another by our culture (How can something that feels good, makes me happy, etc. be wrong?). Maggie also sees very clearly that being worried that the baby her mother is expecting will take her place in their hearts proves not to be true and when her new sister is born, she finds that the baby loves her and that she loves the baby. Also the family dynamic is solid. She also decides to be a marine biologist (marine animals won’t trigger her allergies). --- Finally, there is also a good reminder/lesson for Christian parents in here. The world is always pushing our kiddos towards desiring endless “freedom”. In this case, this comes up when Maggie asks for a lock on her door, but it can also be open internet access or unmonitored phones or unchecked rooms. Our job from Christ is to realize the times are evil and to guide and protect our kids accordingly… not ensure our kids feel they have a never-ending supply of “freedom”. Another challenge to us comes in the parents dealing with the major issue of dishonesty. Maggie is sorry, but get basically no consequences. This is not a model that will lead to genuine change if adopted over the long-run.