Spy EYE (The Marino Family, Spring Thing 2018)

The gist of the story is challenging, though it’s wrapped in some playful fantasy imagery. The parents in this story are not dead, but they’re going through some things that make it impossible to take care of their children right at the moment. Can our protagonists accept that fact, and wait, and at the same time hold onto the faith that their family isstill a family? It’s a situation that asks these children for a degree of empathy and long-term perspective-taking well beyond their years: even adults may have trouble realizing that their parents are limited and human, and forgiving them for it.