Product Description

It helps to know what to expect when a parent has cancer. Knowing the facts makes things seem less scary and out of control. The Year My Mother Was Bald is Clare's journal and scrapbook the year her mother is diagnosed with cancer and goes through treatment. Clare tells her story, shares her feelings, and describes her family's experiences from her mother's diagnosis to chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Young readers will learn to understand the science of cancer and its treatments and will take comfort in knowing that they're not alone and that their feelings are normal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #212987 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

Book Info
(Magination Press) Consumer text is a fictional story about family experiences while the mother undergoes cancer treatment. Written from the child's perspective, text attempts to take away much of the mystery and fear surrounding cancer and its treatment. Emphasis is placed on the feelings of the child and how the family bonds together. Softcover, hardcover available.

Card catalog description
Clare keeps a journal that describes the medical treatments her mother undergoes for breast cancer, her family's experiences, and her own feelings and concerns. Includes a list of resources.

Customer Reviews

A wonderful resource!
This book is invaluable for helping children take in everything related to a loved one's cancer. It helps kids understand that their fears are normal and understandable, and that cancer is something that we can fight. They also learn that the fight is hard and that they are part of the fight when they support their loved one.

It was enormously helpful to my daughter in understanding my father's cancer last year. My daughter was just five at that time. I read it aloud to her, and she listened so intently that she repeated parts of it verbatim six months later!

I gave our (first) copy to a friend when she was diagnosed with breast cancer for her daughter to read. She describes it as "a godsend."

A most helpful book
This book was given as a gift to my ten year old niece while her mom was undergoing treatment for breast cancer. I asked her about how she liked the book and she told me that is has really helped her understand what her mom is going through and helped her understand what she (my niece) was feeling. Great choice!!

A mother's cancer in a cycle of seasons
In this story, a young girl, Claire, tells the story of her mother's breast cancer in a monthly scrapbook. It starts in June, when her mother's cancer is first diagnosed. In the ensuing months, her mother experiences surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. In the final month, May, her mother is feeling better and appears to be on the road to a good recovery.

Each month includes Claire's experiences, hopes and fears. She discusses her daily routine and how it has to change when her mother is too ill to pack her lunch or drive her to school. Eventually, Claire learns to manage some chores, such as laundry, on her own. She feels that she is contributing and that she has learned some new skills. Each monthly chapter also includes scientific information explaining facts that a child might want to know. These topics include surgery, surgical drains, chemotherapy, and hair loss. the illustrations include drawings and photographs. They look like the marginal drawings that a girl like Claire might actually do. they help illustrate her reactions.

I liked the way that the book is organized around a specific time frame. A child experiences time differently from an adult. Although cancer treatment often extends longer than a year, the concrete depiction of time passage allows the child or young adolescent to see that there is a progression.

The author and illustrator have both had personal experience with cancer in themselves or in their family. They make it clear that different people experience cancer in their own ways, and that different emotional reactions are all right.