Illustrated by David McPhail. 26 p., Simon & Schuster, 1999.
This book is written in the format of a scrapbook by members of a support group for (animal) children whose mothers have breast cancer. Each page addresses one issue common to these children, and is written in the first person and signed with a first name and age (5-12). The book explains what cancer is in a very simple way, and addresses children's worries about contagion, visiting the clinic, how Mom feels when she has chemotherapy, making the best of the bad days, family functioning, having a range of feelings, and helping out even though children can't cure their mothers' cancer. The last child shares her hope tree, saying that no matter how bad things get, she can always have hope. This story offers children the empathy of a "virtual support group", models of ways to have a positive, but realistic, outlook, and constructive ways to cope.
Ages: 5-12
Cultural Context: non-human
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