Lily Hates Goodbyes: Navy Edition

This was a well-written, touching book that clearly illustrates the various emotions that young children with a deployed parent have to deal with in his or her absence. The wording is simple, but detailed enough to clearly convey what the author is trying to say and the illustrations are sweet and well-drawn.My daughter is going through her father's second deployment since getting this book (first when she was two, second now that she is three) and it has been helpful both times. When she was two, it helped her identify feelings like missing her father and joy at his homecoming. Now that she is three, it has helped in a very different way-- it taught her positive coping strategies and showed her how to work through negative emotions by doing things like taking deep breaths and talking to her mother about how she is feeling. My daughter used these behaviors to help her process the separation.We also created a "Memories for Daddy box", similar to Lily's, where my daughter puts various mementos and drawings that she does when she is upset about missing her dad and needs to "color her feelings". This deployment has been extremely difficult for her emotionally and this book has been an invaluable resource for us. I would definitely recommend this book to other military families, particularly Navy families dealing with ship deployments.As a side note, I see some reviewers were dismayed by the illustrations portraying a Naval officer rather than an enlisted sailor, but this book was written about a real little girl and her experience during her father's deployment and her father likely happened to be a commissioned officer. Small children, who are the intended audience for this book, are very unlikely to care about the rank of the individuals depicted in the book-- what they care about is Lily's family unit. I certainly don't feel that the depiction of Lily's father as an officer prevented my daughter's ability to relate to Lily whatsoever, even though my husband is an enlisted sailor.

If you know a child who experiences separation from a parent for any length of time and for any reason (military or business or illness) this book will be a treasured gift. The wonderful illustrations capture the beauty and heart of little Lily and of Quincy, her ever-present bunny. And the story is touching beyond words. Purchased for my step-grandkids, I first shared it with my two 20-something kids. Remembering their times of being separated, they were moved to tears by little Lily's story and shared her elation at the end. Wish I'd had this book for them when they were little. I'm so glad I have it to share with our grandchildren. I know this will be a classic in our family.

My 3 year old and 10 year old loved it!!

We're currently going through the first deployment in which our daughter has been old enough to understand what's going on. This book has really helped her. She relates to it so well and she loves being reassured that the way she's feeling is okay. I highly recommend this to anyone with young kids dealing with deployment.

I gave this a 5 star because my oldest is at that age where she understNds daddy is gone but really hates that he is and just wants him here and this book helps her put words to her emotions. She feels like it was written just for her and her dad.Thank you!

I bought this for my 5-year old granddaughter whose father is in the Navy. It's a warm, wonderful story with a positive, reinforcing message. She's asked me to read it to her several times and it's helping her deal with her own deployment separation issues (her daddy is currently deployed aboard a US Navy destroyer). The illustrations are top-notch too. An all-around excellent book.

This is a really good book for those who have a deployed spouse and young children. My son is able to see that he can be upset, frustrated and mad and it is ok. Loved the price for what we got for sure!

Great book!Cute pictures and an important message for the upcoming deployment time. I wish could have gotten a hardback.