Hair for Mama - Hardcover

Tinkham, Kelly

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803729553 ISBN 13: 9780803729551

Publisher: Dial Books, 2007

Synopsis

It’s family picture time for the Carters, but Mama does not want to be in the photo this year. All of her beautiful hair is gone because of chemotherapy treatments for her cancer, and she doesn’t want to be remembered without hair. Eight-year-old Marcus knows that the picture won’t be the same without Mama, so he comes up with a plan to find her some hair and make her better. Even though the plan doesn’t work in quite the way Marcus expects, he comes to understand that “hair is nice to have, but not as nice as me having Mama and Mama having me.”

This is a story for every family dealing with a serious illness. It is told with a touch of gentle humor in a style that children will readily understand, and the warm and inviting illustrations will bring comfort and hope to young and old alike.

About this title

About the Author:

Kelly Ann Sherwood was born & raised in Newaygo County Michigan. She completed her college education at Valley Forge Christian College with a degree in missions. Kelly married Mark Tinham in May 1987. They have two wonderful boys, Justin and Jarred.

As an author, Kelly has written articles for local newspapers and national magazines such as Faces. She completed training with the institute of children's literature.

Kelly makes author visits to schools and libraries. She works as a librarian at Newaygo area district library and is the reader for Carnegie on the road.

Most recently, Kelly released Hair For Mama in May 2007. Hair For Mama is a children's picture book published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a Division of Penguin Young Readers Group and illustrated by Amy June Bates.

From Booklist:

This story, straightforward and sweet, is nonetheless heart-wrenching. Marcus' mother does not want to be in this year's family photograph; she has lost her beautiful long, braided hair to chemotherapy treatments. When Marcus goes to get his face trimmed for the picture, he asks the barber to cut all his hair off so he can give it to Mama. Before he knows it, the hair has been swept up and thrown away, but now Marcus looks like Mama. She is so touched that she wraps her head in a gele and sits for the family photo. Told in Marcus' tender yet energetic first-person voice, this offers explanation as well as story, as the boy describes cancer and chemotherapy. Bates uses golds and browns, accented with blues and greens, for the warm images of this African American family. Without sentimentality, both text and art capture the fear, pain, and hope that come with chemotherapy for a family member. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Dial Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0803729553
• ISBN 13: 9780803729551
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bates Amy