Review: Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite Mommy's Imaginary Friend is a children's book written by Jessika Anne Allsop and illustrated by Melissa Mae. A young boy has endless fun as he plays with his imaginary friend, Leon. Leon is a unique dog which always loves to play games. The boy's mother also has an imaginary friend, Marvin, but her imaginary friend is not fun at all. When Marvin is around, the boy's mother cries a lot. Some days, Marvin makes her stay in bed all day. Other days, Marvin makes her want to watch movies and cry some more. The only thing that makes Leon feel bad is Marvin. Every time Marvin visits with the boy's mother, the child wraps his arms around her and shouts at Marvin to go away and leave her alone. Those hugs make some days a little bit brighter. Sometimes the boy's mother visits a therapist, who tells her how to keep Marvin from disrupting her life. No matter whether Marvin is there or not, the boy's mother never forgets to hug her son and tell him (and Leon) how much she loves them both. With depression being such a complex issue, it is difficult for children to perceive the damage it does to the people that they love. Helping them to visualize the depression as a mean, disruptive imaginary friend is the easiest way for a child to understand. Jessika Allsop's well-written tale presents a clever way to explain to young children about when a grown-up suffers from depression. All of their love and hugs make the day a little bit brighter, as it chases Mommy's Imaginary Friend away, even if just for a little while. Portraying depression as Marvin allows children to visualize the illness in terms that they might understand, while also showing the child that they will forever be loved, and depression will never change that. The illustrations are quite clever, and are drawn in such a way that it brings the whole story to life, assisting in the visualization process while explaining what depression is. I am impressed by the intriguing concept presented within this book and recommend Mommy's Imaginary Friend to school, kindergarten, hospital and home libraries so that it might be read to children aged 3-8 years of age, helping them to understand this debilitating illness. "Mommy's Imaginary Friend" is a children's picture book written to help parents start the conversation about depression in a context children will better understand. This particular story focuses on a mother's depression and its effect on her young son. In this book the mother's depression is explained by the presence of her imaginary friend, Marvin, who is a goofy character that makes the Mom sad. "Mommy's Imaginary Friend" talks about some of the outward signs of depression that even children notice. The story weaves fantasy, imagination, and real life issues into one adorable children's book. For ages 2-6.
