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Picture Book · Ages 5–8 · 2017 · Est. 4 min read-aloud
The Fix-It Man
By Dimity Powell, Nicky Johnston (Illustrator)
Can a father fix a broken heart after loss?
4.5/5 Goodreads · 49 ratings
32 pages· 404 words· Est. 4 min read-aloud
$17.99Save 6%
Bookroo's summary
A young girl believes her dad can fix anything, but after her mother's death, she learns some things aren't easily mended. Together, they navigate grief, discovering resilience and healing. Can they piece their lives back together?
"My Dad can fix anything. It's what dads do."
— from the book
From the publisher
It’s handy having a dad who can fix just about anything. A young girl believes her father is the king of fixing things. But following the death of her mother, she discovers that broken hearts are not as easy to repair as damaged toys and cracked teapots. Together, she and her father find a way to glue back the pieces of her lives. The Fix-It Man is a poignant picture book that explores how a child can cope with the loss of a parent (in this case, the young girl’s mother). Repairing damaged emotions is not as straightforward as gluing a broken kite back together or sewing up a torn toy. And grief affects all members of a family, with each responding in their own way to the loss. By sticking with her father, the young girl is able to strengthen her resilience and ability to cope with one of life’s harshest experiences. The author was encouraged to seek publication for this story after receiving the endorsement of several grief counsellors who work with children and who recognised the need for a book such as this.
At a glance
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 32
- Words
- 404
- Reading age
- 5–8
- Audience
- Picture
- Lexile
- 560L
After the last page
Talk about it together
Do you have someone who can fix everything in your home?
How would you feel if one day that person could not fix something?
How do the pictures in this story make you feel? Do the colours make you feel a certain way, happy, sad, worried, joyful?
Who is Tiger and why do you think he is so important in the story?
Describe the relationship between the little girl and her father: at the beginning of the story, in the middle and finally at the end.
Inside the book
A peek between the covers
Good to know
Stories behind the story
What inspired the story behind this book?
The idea spawned from an incident created by my then infant child. A bowl was broken, shattered to splinters, and like many young children who view their parents as omnipresent cure-alls, she immediately presumed Daddy would fix it. It got me thinking, what if a Daddy couldn’t fix something. What if one day, he needed fixing, too? How would a child cope in that situation?
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Top contributors: Dimity Powell · The Goodfather · B is for Bookworm