Helping a child and the grandmother to work through the grief caused by a parent who succumbed to death by the deep depression which so often accompanies the effects of addiction. It is helping the caregiver to help the child to remember all of the good times with that parent. There are specific notes for the caregiver at the end.
The illustrations by the Adriana Predoi are clear, imaginative, colorful, and meaningful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from American Psychological Association/Magination Press via NetGalley. Thank you!
Available 07 May 2024

This book will be fantastic for helping kids work through the emotions surrounding the loss of a loved one and figuring out how to sort all the "pieces" of that person in their minds.

This is a superb resource for children who lack the tools to contextualize death from overdose. I think it's important for adults and children to read as a team, but kids can read it independently as well.

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

All the Pieces, by Hallie Riggs and Illustrated by Adriana Predoi, is a book about helping a child cope with a parent’s overdose and subsequent suicide. I enjoyed the soft tone of the story, and although I’d prefer the father’s “pieces” be first, rather than his pieces and his overdose, it ties into the bittersweet characterization the book nourishes. It definitely helps that the father’s addiction is introduced as a completely different person, rather than a part of who he is. In the addiction professions, a lot of people, clients and therapists both, will still assume that addiction is caused by a moral failing. For Riggs and Predoi. to show that the addiction is a “disease” not apart of someone spoke volumes to how we can remove the stigma as a whole.

Moreover, I like the way Predoi demonstrates fragments of these wonderful memories through the use of puzzle pieces. At the same time, it appeared that the struggles that the father was going through encompassed entire pages, The fact that Predoi used little aspects of light at the end of the book demonstrated that in spite of the pain, there was love and hope, similar to the puzzle pieces. I do wish Predoi used darker colors to show how deep his mental struggles went, but I liked the pinks and blues she used as well. It’s severe, but I feel that it shows that the father had support, and he did the best he could.

Often times, addiction is an isolating condition that cuts people off from their loved ones. It’s even more of a sorrow when the person who’s going through this has no one left to help them because they’ve burned all their bridges. So for the child and his grandmother to continue to support him, even though he’s distancing himself, shows how resilient the child is. And how the grandmother handled everything demonstrates how important it is to have the child’s wellbeing in mind, to show that he wasn’t his fault, where neither he nor anyone else was being blamed for it.

Aside from slight organizational changes, I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend this for families who have younger children and who struggle to identify healthy ways to cope with a parent who has an addiction or a mental illness.

When the young narrator's father dies from an overdose (right up front readers are told this fact), the narrator navigates grief by talking about all the pieces of the father - some good memories, some mad, sad, and confusing memories. What's important though is that the feelings of the grieving child be voiced and validated as part of the process.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a necessary and heartfelt book that helps children understand the pieces of a parent who is no longer able to be there. While there is no blatant mention of death by suicide there is talk about depression and addiction. Using child friendly language and beautiful illustrations this book will ease conversations for children to discuss their emotions and feelings. A lovely resource with talking points and information for adults included.

This is a book that deals with such a heavy topic -- a parent dying from addiction -- but it does so beautifully, without shame or stigma and with lots of understanding and love. The illustrations are beautiful and I think it explains the issue well. It also confronts a bit of the mix of emotions a child might have -- sadness as well as anger and confusion.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. "All the Pieces" by Hallie Riggs helps kids process the death of a parent or loved one who died from substance use disorder. It discusses overdose, mental health, and substance use in an age appropriate way. It helps kids remember the many pieces of their loved one (both the good and the bad). This book is a good addition to any bookshelf.

This is an extremely deep book that is not for all readers. It is a very heartfelt book for any child that may have gone through or is currently mourning the loss of a loved one due to substance abuse. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

Wow talk about a hard topic to talk about! All the Pieces by Hallie Riggs is a wonderful tool for any parent, teacher, therapist or child that has suffered the loss of a loved one. This book is specific to substance use but could be utilized in many other traumatic situations such as a parent who is struggling with life or has committed suicide. This book takes you on a journey of emotions. The best part is by looking at all the pieces helps you see the whole picture. This book lets the reader know that it is okay to feel, and is okay to have many different emotions. Everyone deals with grief differently, what a great book to open up dialogue with children and help them be able to process what they are feeling and going through.

The first few sentences of the book establish the heavy nature of the content, defining overdose as taking "more medicine than the doctor told him to" and addiction is later described as "a disease in his brain. It's not a disease you can catch, like the cold". The book does not stop there, but illustrates how the dad had a lot of parts to himself, including loving nature and being a storyteller. I was concerned that the book would only show the positive parts of people, but the narrator acknowledges that the dad used to get sad and lose his temper. There are two pages at the end of the book devoted to sharing information with adult readers on how to talk about the death of a loved one from addiction. My only wish is that the book had more differentiated resources for different ages and cultures. A worthy addition to a parenting/caregiver picture book collection.

All the Pieces is a beautifully illustrated children's book about loss to addiction. I appreciated the nuance of this book and will be recommending it as a resource for my library. In this book, the young boy loses his father. It is clear the authors took great care to research family impact and coping mechanisms. The book makes a point of not demonizing the father and noting that addiction is a disease - that it is not from a lack of love. It puts a name to the feelings and frustrations that kids will have surrounding addiction and loss. The section at the end with notes to the adult readers is important in a book like this, and I felt they were thorough. Overall, this book was very sweet and has an important message - it will be a valuable resource to many children and families.

This book was very well done and will be purchased for my classroom. It was about a boy whose loved one died. He had angry and sad pieces he remembered, but focused on remembering the positive memories.

If I could give this book six stars I would. Hallie Riggs has taken the very difficult subject of the death of a parent due to addiction and treated it in a way that is understandable and relatable to children. The boy in the story has lost his dad. His paternal grandmother is helping him deal with his grief. She has him remember the parts of his dad that he enjoyed as well as the parts that cause him to feel sadness and even anger. I think the use of puzzle pieces to represent his dad will be something children can understand. The illustrations and examples cited by the boy covered many issues related to mental health problems. This book will prompt discussions and hopefully healing in youngsters with family members who experience substance abuse. As a teacher who has lost students to drugs, I found this approach engaging. I thank NetGalley and the American Psychological Association for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.