Life Without Nico

Maia and Nico are best friends. They do everything together, but one day they learn that Nico must move across the world for his dad's schooling. And suddenly Maia's life has a hole in it.

One of the hardest things as a parent can be knowing what to do when your child's friend has just moved away, or their third friend just moved away. You watch them spend more time inside instead of going out to play with other children. You hear them say, "Everyone leaves. It's better to not have friends." They seem more easily angered and upset and when you ask what's going on they might say how unfair it all is that they have no one to play with.

My son had a group of friends and over the past year, every single one of them moved away, except him. He stayed.

Though as parents we long to just see our kids happy again and feeling good, learning to sit with them and hear them when their heart is breaking is the best thing we can do to comfort them.

This beautiful story, Life Without Nico by Andrea Maturana and Francisco Javier Olea, tells, in very simple words, the personal experience of what it's like as a child after your best friend moves away. As the reader we get to walk alongside Maia as she talks about the hole in her life since Nico, her best friend, left.

The tempo of this book really allows us to slow down and sit with our kids in those feelings. In these moments we can ask our children to tell their own stories of having a friend move away. Maia's story can also give hope to kids feeling the weight of those losses as she finds new companions and passions that fill her life in new ways.

If your child likes to talk or if they like to draw instead, here are a few questions that could spark conversations or a drawing activity that could allow you a glimpse into your child's world.

Find the book on Amazon. If Amazon is not available in your location, you may find a re-aloud on YouTube.

Ask

• What picture/part in this story stuck out to you? Why?
• Which person do you feel more like Maia or Nico?
• Maia grew and changed while Nico was gone and Nico changed as well. But in the end they are back together. How could they learn (open themselves up to) the ways in which each of them have changed?

Activity

This story is told from Maia’s point of view. Imagine what Nico’s experience was like and draw it out or tell the story you imagine. (Could use paper, digital sketching tools to draw the story, or create a comic strip style story for Nico.)