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Where's Mom's Hair?: A Family's Journey Through Cancer
A family faces Mom’s cancer and medical treatments with a huge hair shaving party. Touching and humorous black and white photographs follow Mom (Debbie) as she and her family go through each step of fighting cancer.
- GenresIllness
32 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 26, 2016
Title: Where’s Mom’s Hair?
Author: Debbie Watters
Illustrator: Sophia Hogan
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): Cancer, Family
Opening line/sentence: This is our family.
Brief Book Summary: When Debbie’s hair began falling out due to her chemotherapy, her family decided to have a hair cutting party. Debbie then goes through the rest of her treatments until the end of the story when her hair begins to grow back.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Harriet Zaidman (CM Magazine, April 29, 2005 (Vol. XI, No. 17))
The diagnosis of cancer is a frightening prospect, but the fear it engenders is even greater in children when they are faced with the prospect of losing a loved one. The person they knew seems to be transformed into a stranger, magnifying the confusion and psychological trauma that illness and disruption can create. Debbie Watters documented her own journey through the process when she developed breast cancer. A primary and Early Literacy teacher, wife and mother of two boys, nine and eight at the time, she realized the value in keeping a photographic diary of every stage. Sophie Hogan's photographs, in black and white, record mostly the visually challenging part of the treatment, the loss of Debbie's hair from chemotherapy, as well as the physically difficult part, the chemotherapy itself. There is a lot of humour injected into the photos. This family decided to share in Mom's new image by shaving their own heads. There are many clips of Mom and then the boys dressing up in wigs and scarves to cover their baldpates. The fun photos outnumber the sad ones, which is appropriate to the target age group for the book. What is most significant is that Debbie did not go through this process alone. Young readers will see her surrounded by friends and family from beginning to end, which is possibly the best support both she and her children could have had. The text is simple but explanatory. A young child can learn either through the pictures or the text which is typed in a large schoolbook-type format. The soft blue field of hair background sets the text and pictures off well. This book will answer the questions young children have when family members are undergoing cancer treatment. It can also be very comforting for adults, too, who need to find a realistic but non-threatening way to inform their children about how a patient will look and feel through the different stages of treatment. Luckily for Watters, the treatment was successful, which is what everyone reading the book will hope for their family member. Where's Mom's Hair? A Family's Journey Through Cancer can be used by parents, family and teachers to help young children understand how cancer affects people and how it is fought. Told from a child's point of view, it has the warmth and gentleness that a child needs at a scary time. Highly Recommended. Rating: **** /4. Preschool-grade 3. 2005, Second Story Press, 32 pp., pbk., $12.95. Ages 4 to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Second Story Press (Toronto:), PUBLISHED: c2005.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Mavis Holder (Resource Links, June 2005 (Vol. 10, No. 5))
The subtitle of this true story is A family s journey through cancer and it is a photo essay that shows the story of a mother going through cancer treatment. The text is written in a childlike print, but without spelling errors and with correct punctuation and capitalization, and tells the story from the perspective of her two boys, aged around nine and eleven. The boys and Mom all have their hair cut in buzz cuts at a pre-chemo party, to show how unimportant it is to have hair. But although theirs will soon grow back, their mother is shown later without any hair at all and wearing a variety of hats and wigs. However, by the end of the book their mother has her beautiful new hair . It is very frightening for young children to see a parent without hair and often talk about their parent looking like a witch , so this book will certainly find a place in families that need something to share with younger children while a relative is going through treatment. The type of cancer is not specified and all treatment other than chemo is not mentioned, but a visit to an oncologist is shown. This will make it a useful tool for many different situations. It clearly illustrates the love and caring of a family group and also all the friends that come to the hair cutting and the growing back parties show that it takes much support from many people to make the journey through the treatment of this disease tolerable. Category: Picture Books. Thematic Links: Cancer; Health: Family. Resource Links Rating: G (Good, great at times, generally useful!), Gr. K-6. 2005, Second Story Press, 32p. Illus., Pbk. $12.95. Ages 5 to 12.
(PUBLISHER: Second Story ;Airlift [distributor] (Toronto Ont.:) (Enfield:), PUBLISHED: 2005.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews summarize the photographic essay. The first review discusses how this text was written in a childlike print and way but without the errors of a typical child. The second review touches on the importance of family during a cancer treatment and that the patient should never feel alone.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: By being told from a child’s point of view, children will be able to make connections and gain a greater understanding of what the family was going through at that time. Readers can almost hear the voices of the boys as they read through the text. Being a photo essay allows children of all reading abilities can understand what is occurring in the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application: After reading this book, the class could have a discussion on cancer and how families are affected by it. Once the discussion is over, students will make cards to mail to cancer patients who are currently in the hospital. Students should be reminded that the purpose of the cards is to brighten the day of someone who is really sick.
Author: Debbie Watters
Illustrator: Sophia Hogan
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): Cancer, Family
Opening line/sentence: This is our family.
Brief Book Summary: When Debbie’s hair began falling out due to her chemotherapy, her family decided to have a hair cutting party. Debbie then goes through the rest of her treatments until the end of the story when her hair begins to grow back.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Harriet Zaidman (CM Magazine, April 29, 2005 (Vol. XI, No. 17))
The diagnosis of cancer is a frightening prospect, but the fear it engenders is even greater in children when they are faced with the prospect of losing a loved one. The person they knew seems to be transformed into a stranger, magnifying the confusion and psychological trauma that illness and disruption can create. Debbie Watters documented her own journey through the process when she developed breast cancer. A primary and Early Literacy teacher, wife and mother of two boys, nine and eight at the time, she realized the value in keeping a photographic diary of every stage. Sophie Hogan's photographs, in black and white, record mostly the visually challenging part of the treatment, the loss of Debbie's hair from chemotherapy, as well as the physically difficult part, the chemotherapy itself. There is a lot of humour injected into the photos. This family decided to share in Mom's new image by shaving their own heads. There are many clips of Mom and then the boys dressing up in wigs and scarves to cover their baldpates. The fun photos outnumber the sad ones, which is appropriate to the target age group for the book. What is most significant is that Debbie did not go through this process alone. Young readers will see her surrounded by friends and family from beginning to end, which is possibly the best support both she and her children could have had. The text is simple but explanatory. A young child can learn either through the pictures or the text which is typed in a large schoolbook-type format. The soft blue field of hair background sets the text and pictures off well. This book will answer the questions young children have when family members are undergoing cancer treatment. It can also be very comforting for adults, too, who need to find a realistic but non-threatening way to inform their children about how a patient will look and feel through the different stages of treatment. Luckily for Watters, the treatment was successful, which is what everyone reading the book will hope for their family member. Where's Mom's Hair? A Family's Journey Through Cancer can be used by parents, family and teachers to help young children understand how cancer affects people and how it is fought. Told from a child's point of view, it has the warmth and gentleness that a child needs at a scary time. Highly Recommended. Rating: **** /4. Preschool-grade 3. 2005, Second Story Press, 32 pp., pbk., $12.95. Ages 4 to 8.
(PUBLISHER: Second Story Press (Toronto:), PUBLISHED: c2005.)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Mavis Holder (Resource Links, June 2005 (Vol. 10, No. 5))
The subtitle of this true story is A family s journey through cancer and it is a photo essay that shows the story of a mother going through cancer treatment. The text is written in a childlike print, but without spelling errors and with correct punctuation and capitalization, and tells the story from the perspective of her two boys, aged around nine and eleven. The boys and Mom all have their hair cut in buzz cuts at a pre-chemo party, to show how unimportant it is to have hair. But although theirs will soon grow back, their mother is shown later without any hair at all and wearing a variety of hats and wigs. However, by the end of the book their mother has her beautiful new hair . It is very frightening for young children to see a parent without hair and often talk about their parent looking like a witch , so this book will certainly find a place in families that need something to share with younger children while a relative is going through treatment. The type of cancer is not specified and all treatment other than chemo is not mentioned, but a visit to an oncologist is shown. This will make it a useful tool for many different situations. It clearly illustrates the love and caring of a family group and also all the friends that come to the hair cutting and the growing back parties show that it takes much support from many people to make the journey through the treatment of this disease tolerable. Category: Picture Books. Thematic Links: Cancer; Health: Family. Resource Links Rating: G (Good, great at times, generally useful!), Gr. K-6. 2005, Second Story Press, 32p. Illus., Pbk. $12.95. Ages 5 to 12.
(PUBLISHER: Second Story ;Airlift [distributor] (Toronto Ont.:) (Enfield:), PUBLISHED: 2005.)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews summarize the photographic essay. The first review discusses how this text was written in a childlike print and way but without the errors of a typical child. The second review touches on the importance of family during a cancer treatment and that the patient should never feel alone.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: By being told from a child’s point of view, children will be able to make connections and gain a greater understanding of what the family was going through at that time. Readers can almost hear the voices of the boys as they read through the text. Being a photo essay allows children of all reading abilities can understand what is occurring in the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application: After reading this book, the class could have a discussion on cancer and how families are affected by it. Once the discussion is over, students will make cards to mail to cancer patients who are currently in the hospital. Students should be reminded that the purpose of the cards is to brighten the day of someone who is really sick.
January 23, 2013
Book for childrens. Talk about a simple way, such as chemotherapy for cancer treatment makes hair fall.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews