The Goodbye Cancer Garden

12 Oct 2012 34 Comments

by Patricia Tilton in Cancer, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Perfect Picture Books Tags: , , ,

The Goodbye Cancer Garden

Janna Matthies, author

Kristi Valiant, illustrator

Albert Whitman & Company, Fiction, 2011

Suitable for:  Ages 4-10

Themes:  Parent with cancer, Family support,  Hope, Gardens

Opening/Synopsis:   “In our backyard, where first base used to be, is a special garden.  We didn’t expect to plant it.  But Mom says things don’t always go as expected.  For example, Mom didn’t expect the doctor to say she had breast cancer.”   Mom and Dad tell Janie and Jeffrey that Mom has breast cancer.   Both kids are worried, but the parents involve them in discussions and have them meet the doctor.  When Jeffrey asks if his mom is better, the doctor responds, “Not yet, but we’re working very hard to make her better–probably by pumpkin time.”  This gives Janie an idea.  Mom prepares to go to the hospital for surgery on Valentine’s Day.  Janie points out the window and says, “Let’s plant a garden!  Watching it grow, and eating healthy veggies, will remind us Mom’s getting better.  Then before we know it…Hello, pumpkins, goodbye cancer!”  Her Mom thinks her idea is perfect.  The garden is planted with vegetables, flowers and pumpkins.  During the summer Mom goes through chemo and radiation and loses her hair.  The family lovingly tend to the garden and to Mom.   As fall arrives, pumpkins appear and Mom is well on her way towards recovery.

Why I like this book:   Janna Matthies’ book is realistic and optimistic.  The story is based on the author’s own experience with breast cancer, and she wrote the book while undergoing treatment.  Even through the difficult times, there is an abundance of support from family and friends.  Planting a garden does help the family focus on healing.  Kristi Valiant portrays Mom smiling and positive in a charming way.  Kristi’s  illustrations are warm, rich and full of life.   This is a beautiful story for moms and grandmothers with breast cancer to share with their children/grandchildren.  Visit Janna Matthies at her website.

The Goodbye Cancer Garden was selected as Best English Language Children’s Book at the Sharjah (U.A.E) International Book Fair in November of 2011.  With this honor the book may be published in Arabic and touch the lives of readers in the Middle East.

Resources:  This is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  For families undergoing a life changing event, planting a garden is a healing activity and helps them focus on living.  Janna travels around the country speaking to children and families about cancer and her book.  She’s discovered that many families in similar situations have planted gardens of hope in their backyards.   Other activities to help children cope can be found at Bear Essentials website.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book.  To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books.

Kathy’s Hats: A Story of Hope

08 Oct 2012 28 Comments

by Patricia Tilton in Cancer, Childhood Cancer Awareness, Perfect Picture Books, Trudy Krisher Tags: , , , , ,

Kathy’s Hats:  A Story of Hope

Trudy Krisher, author

Nadine Bernard Westcott, illustrator

Albert Whitman & Company, Fiction, 1992

Suitable for: Ages 6-10

Themes:  Childhood cancer, Hair Loss, Hope, Self-esteem

Opening/Synopsis: “When I was born, I was almost bald.  My mother tied a tiny green ribbon to my little puff of fuzz.  This was my first hat.”  Kathy has a hat for every occasion.  Then one day when Kathy turns 9 years old, she finds out she has cancer.  Because of her cancer she feels angry, sick and scared.  There are some moving lines in the story:  “I didn’t like it when they poked me with needles to put the medicine in…I didn’t like it when I felt sick from the medicine…and the worst thing about the medicine was that it made my hair fall out.”   Kathy’s mother buys her lots of hats to cover her bald head, but she looses interest in her hats.  One day Kathy puts a bear pin on her hat and all her friends begin to give her pins for her hat.  They rally behind her on her journey.

Why I like this book:  I remember when this book first came out.  The author is from my home town and I went to a book signing to get copies for two children who were dealing with cancer and the aftermath of the chemo therapy.  I loved the idea of this book because it is so upbeat and encouraging.  I knew it would help them feel less alone.  Since my original purchase, the book has been picked up by a larger publisher and more text added.   Nadine’s illustrations are colorful and support the realistic, but positive story line.  Trudy wrote the book for her daughter who had cancer.  This is an outstanding book to help students in the classroom understand what a classmate with cancer is going through.  I highly recommend it.

Resources:  September was National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  I discovered  a wonderful curriculum for teachers to use in the classroom at the Live Strong at School website.    For parents resources  visit the National Children’s Cancer Society, Childhood Cancer Lifeline,  American Childhood Cancer Organization.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book.  To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books.

The Next Place – Grief

25 May 2012 40 Comments

by Patricia Tilton in Grief, Inspirational, Perfect Picture Books Tags: , , ,

The Next Place

Warren Hanson, Author and Illustrator

Waldman House Press, Fiction, 1997

Suitable for:  Ages 5 and Up

Theme:  Grief and Bereavement, Celebration of Life

Opening and Synopsis:  “The next place I go will be as peaceful and familiar as a sleepy summer Sunday and a sweet, untroubled mind.  And yet…it won’t be anything like any place I’ve ever been…or seen… or even dreamed of in the place I leave behind.  I won’t know where I’m going, and I won’t know where I’ve been as I tumble through the always and look back toward the when.”   This is a beautiful picture book for children and adults about letting go to a place where  light and love will shine forever.  After 9/11,  a grassroots effort formed called “The Next Place Network, and this book was given to surviving families.

Says Warren Hanson about his book:  ““The Next Place is a peaceful, comforting, quiet and hopeful book for times when we face the loss of someone we love. Or for when we face the reality of our own certain death. It is very deliberately not a traditionally religious look at death and the hereafter. We live in a world of many beliefs and backgrounds. I did not want the book to leave anyone out of its message of comfort. So I created the words and the illustrations in such a way that I hoped the reader would bring his or her own faith to it. Since the book came out, it has been embraced by people of many different religions and beliefs.”

Why I like this book:  Warren Hanson’s book is a celebration of life and portrays an afterlife in a non-religious, beautiful and soft  way.  It is an inspirational and poetic journey about death.    The illustrations are gorgeous.   This is a book I would give to a family that is dealing with the loss of a loved one.  It is an uplifting  book to read and discuss with children when they have lost a member of a family through war, an illness, an accident.  It would also be helpful to share if you have a family will soon making a transition.  This book brings hope and puts a smile on your face.  Kids will be so much more open to talking and asking questions.

Activities:  Have children plant a special tree in memory of a loved one.  Have them draw or  write about special memories so they won’t forget.   Make a memory box where you can put something special that belonged to a loved one inside.  You may want to add photos, cards/letters written to the child by the loved one.   That way kids can touch, read, and look at the items, and keep their memories alive.

Wings of EPOH – Perfect Picture Book

27 Apr 2012 44 Comments

by Patricia Tilton in Autism Awareness Month, Gerda Weissmann Klein, Perfect Picture Books, Peter H. Reynolds Tags: , , , ,

Wings of EPOH

Gerda Weissmann Klein, Author

Peter H. Reynolds, Illustrator

FableVision, Inc., Fiction, 2008

Suitable for:  For All Ages

Themes:  Autism Spectrum Disorder,  Hope, Courage, Friendship

Opening/Synopsis:  “Matthew was running.   He was running very fast, skipping over the bright green grass, over the yellow dandelions and the smiling daisies, with the wind singing in his hair.”  This is a story about a boy who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and his journey to find meaning, acceptance and friendship in a world that is confusing to him.  For Matthew, lights are too bright and sounds are too loud.  He has trouble communicating his thoughts and feelings until he meets a butterfly named EPOH (Hope spelled backward).  EPOH and Matthew communicate through their thoughts.  EPOH shares the struggles she’s faced in her life.  Matthew finds this uplifting friendship changes the way he views his own difficulties, and finds courage and hope.

Why I like this book:   Even though this book is about a boy with autism, it has universal appeal for all children.  Every child will at some point feel left out, isolated and struggle to fit in.   It is a great book for the classroom to help children deal with differences and inclusion.  Children will identify with Matthew.   This is an inspiring book written by Gerda Weissmann Klein, a well-known author, lecturer and Holocaust survivor whose story was made into the film, One Survivor Remembers.   Peter H. Reynolds’ rich illustrations bring Wings of Epoh to life.  Reynolds has also written a book on autism, I’m Here, which I reviewed last fall.

Resources:  Gerda and Peter collaborated on the book, and a DVD film of Wings of Epoh.   The DVD includes a user guide Tips for Friends, Parents, and Teachers, developed to help teachers and parents provide strategies for social communication to a child or student with ASD or other social differences.   The tips are to be used as part of a discussion following the film.  There also is an Educator’s Activity Guide.  For information and resources contact FableVision Learning.

Gerda is donating a portion of the proceeds of Wings of Epoh to the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), another great resource for parents.

To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books.  Or click on the Perfect Picture Book Fridays  badge in the right sidebar.

Carly’s Voice: Breaking Through Autism

16 Apr 2012 23 Comments

by Patricia Tilton in Arthur Fleischmann & Carly Fleischmann, Autism Awareness Month, Autism Spectrum Tags: , , , , ,

Carly’s Voice: Breaking Through Autism

Arthur Fleischmann with Carly Fleischmann, authors

A Touchtone Book, Published by Simon & Schuster, Biography, Mar. 27, 2012

Suitable for:  Parents of Autistic Children, Young Adults, Educators

Themes:  Parenting an Autistic Child, Nonverbal, Breakthroughs, Courage, Hope

Opening:  “A news reporter once asked me to describe our a-ha moment with Carly.  He wanted to understand that blinding flash of insight we had about our daughter.  I thought for a moment before replying.  There never has been a moment like that.  Carly has always just been Carly.”

Carly and her fraternal twin sister, Taryn, were born in 1995.  From the beginning they were very different babies.  As early as 10 months, Arthur and his wife, Tammy, noticed Carly was showing signs of delays in her gross motor skills, language, auditory attention and socialization.  By age two, she was diagnosed with severe autism and an oral motor condition called apraxia which prevented Carly from speaking.  Doctors predicted  minimal intellectual development.  Her parents refused to give up in their attempts to reach Carly.  Their lives were filled with therapists who worked with her at home and at school.  In fact their entire family life, which included Taryn and an older brother, Matthew, revolved around caring for Carly.

Arthur Fleischmann, bares his soul as he writes a very raw and honest book about life with Carly.  The sleepless nights, explosive outbursts, chaos, exhaustion, not to mention the huge financial debt they incurred paying for special ABA treatment with two therapists, a nanny, and special equipment.  They were constant advocates, fighting teachers, principals and school boards to make sure Carly received important ABA treatment and attended special schools.  Her ABA therapists saw Carly’s intelligence and worked diligently with Carly using many methods to draw her out.

Hope arrived at age 10, when Carly reached over to the computer and with her index finger typed three words “Help Teeth Hurt.”   Carly was very smart, and this was the beginning of unlocking the door so Carly could find her voice.  It didn’t happen over night.  In fact it took many turbulent years filled with meltdowns, tearing off clothing at night, head banging, and long periods of silence when she’d refuse to type her feeling or interact with her therapists and family.  A significant breakthrough occurred when Carly finally typed to her therapist “Tell Mom and Dad to stop yelling at me.”  “At night when I yell and jump around.  It’s not fun for me.  My legs and arms tingle and I can’t make them stop.  I have to move or it gets worse.  I am hitting myself to stop this feeling.”  She was finally communicating what was going on inside of her and doctors could treat her symptoms that were painful with medication and help reduce meltdowns.  Carly began to calm down and over time and she began to share more of her world in Carly’s voice.   Her therapists and family discovered a very intelligent, gifted, funny and witty young woman who wanted to do normal activities like her brother and sister.  She wanted to go shopping with her mom and to take long walks with her dad.

Epilogue:  There is a special 20-page Epilogue at the end of the book that is written by Carly, who is now 17 years old.   It is funny, insightful and inspiring.   You learn why she calls her voice, her “inner voice.”  You discover that she was talking all the time as a young child, but inside of her head.   One day, she realized that no one was hearing her.  She talks about information and sensory  overload.  She describes her moment of realization that she was different from Taryn and Matthew.  She began to realize on her own that ”it wasn’t that I didn’t understand the words, it was that my brain couldn’t focus directly on the conversation.”  This happened when Carly was bombarded with too many noises, bright lights, and smells, which would distract her and put her on sensory overload.   Left to her own resources, Carly taught herself what she calls “audio filtering,” which helped her sort things out.  It is a very hard thing to learn, but Carly did it on her own.  This is just a peek at what this inspiring young woman has done for herself, autistic children, parents and the medical and educational communities. Carly has found her voice and has become advocate helping people understand autism!   You can follow Carly Fleischmann on Facebook (over 32,100 followers)  and Twitter.

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