Illustrated by Kathy Parkinson. 34 pages. Health Press, 1998.
Ben and Marcus's Mom goes to the hospital for an operation. They make a paper chain with two links for each day that she will be away, so that they can each pull a link off every day. Because their hugs hurt Mom's incision, Dad invents a "yarn hug" by wrapping a piece of yarn around Mom and the children. Eventually Mom discloses that she has cancer, assuring Ben that he can't catch it. She is honest about not knowing when she will get better. Mom takes the children to meet her oncologist, and to see the room where she will have chemotherapy and the radiation facility. Although the children miss Mom during her treatments and when she is home but debilitated, they find ways to have fun with their babysitter and Dad. Ben and Marcus express and work through their worries through play with bears and through caring for an injured bird. At the end of the story, Mom's cancer is in remission. An introduction for adults and a brief glossary are included. This story offers children empathy with the experience of having a parent who has cancer, models for positive coping and sticking together as a family, and hope for getting through this difficult time.
Ages: 4-8
Cultural Context: European American
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