Nowhere Hair by Sue Glader

 

Since this month is Breast Cancer awareness month I thought I'd post this book.  This subject is a soft one on my heart because my mom was diagnosed with BC about 6 years ago, though I was an adult at the time, I couldn't imagine hearing the news as a child.  In her children's book, Nowhere Hair, author Sue Glader, explains in a fun up-beat and very easy to understand way the sometime difficult topic - cancer.  It is very kid friendly book.  Nowhere Hair explains a loved one's cancer to young children.  I would very highly recommend this book to someone if they asked me for a book to share with a child.  I was very please with the way this book was easy to understand and very thorough, written right at the child's level.  Won't bore a young child written in a rhyming pattern fun, playful and narrative, but truthful and to the point.   The illustrations are whimsical and very well done.  I give it a two thumbs up book. 

How many of us, faced with explaining something difficult to a child, retreat into silence, or perhaps worse, fall over ourselves with too much information that only causes confusion and upset?

Nowhere Hair written by Sue Glader and illustrated by Edith Buenen, offers women diagnosed with cancer - and their friends and family members desperate to do something to help - an honest yet upbeat way to tackle a particularly emotional conversation.

"Silence allows all kinds of ideas to creep in," explains Glader. "Kids start blaming themselves, and wonder if they are going to catch cancer. But then, five-year-olds don't need to know how a cancer cell mutates, or that chemotherapy is administered through an IV bag. They want to know that Mommy still loves them."

As protagonist, the little girl in Nowhere Hair knows two things: Her mom's hair is not on her head anymore, so therefore it must be somewhere around the house. After searching the obvious places, the story reveals that her mother, although going through cancer treatment, is still silly, attentive, happy and yes, sometimes very tired and cranky.

Hats, scarves, wigs, and going bald in public is explained, as is the idea that what is inside of us is far more important than how we look on the outside. This book addresses children's guilt, fear and sadness with a light touch ("It makes me scared that she is sick. I want her well right now.  She says, "Be patient, Little One." That seems so hard somehow."). For any parent or grandparent, Nowhere Hair offers a comfortable platform to explain something that is inherently very difficult.

"This book provides a great starting place for talking to children about cancer - and the outward things that can be so scary to children and adults," explains Dr. Laura Esserman, the Director of the UCSF Breast Care Center. Diane Blum, MSW, CEO of the Lymphoma Research Foundation, knows that a book like this has another important role. "Nowhere Hair offers an age-appropriate and honest explanation to children while speaking to the adult in a way that is empowering.  Women who know they will lose their hair are reminded they are still beautiful and vibrant, even when bald."

Nowhere Hair is one of only 2 books recommended by the LIVESTRONG Foundation for talking to children about cancer.

Get more information about this book here




About the author:

Sue Glader is an award-winning freelance writer, mother, and breast cancer survivor living in Mill Valley, California. Her blog, Poking Around Life, can be found at http://www.sueglader.wordpress.com Nowhere Hair is her first book. Edith Buenen is a fashion illustrator from Vught,the Netherlands.

Nowhere Hair by Sue Glader

ISBN: 978-0984359103

Publisher: Thousand Words Press

Date of publish: September 2010

Pages: 32

S.R.P.: $15.99

A copy of this book was provided by the author and Bostick Communications for the purpose of this review.