Mustaches for Maddie

Chad Morris; Shelly Brown

4.35

2,673 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 1629723622 ISBN 13: 9781629723624

Publisher: Shadow Mountain, 2017

A funny, inspiring story about when life's raindrops fall. Based on a true story.

Maddie has a quirky sense of humor and a fondness for sporting fake mustaches, the more outrageous-looking, the better. Her world is turned upside down when she's diagnosed with a brain tumor. Readers will take the journey with her as she battles her illness and encounters the usual obstacles of growing up by using her imagination to conquer her fears, her humor to stay optimistic, and compassion to stay connected to others in a meaningful way. Innocently and unknowingly, her example encourage those around her.

Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She's been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it's curled against her chest and she's constantly tripping over her feet. But that's probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?

When Maddie's arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She's understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears--all of them--at the hospital, at home and at school.

She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie's bossiness turns into bullying.

And as Maddie's surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don't get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?

It will take all of Maddie's vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness-both given and received-and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her.

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About the Author:

Chad Morris and Shelly Brown are the proud parents of four sons and one daughter, Maddie, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was nine.

Chad grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. Neither of those plans quite panned out, so he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college. Now he s a teacher and a writer.

Shelly loves to write books for children. In her spare time, she enjoys the theater and traveling. In addition to her five children, she has three chickens and sixty-four Pez dispensers.

Review:

''A moving novel about a truly brave girl. Maddie is a wonderfully thoughtful, creative, and funny protagonist, with whom readers will identify as she grapples with her social and physical challenges. This poignant and uplifting novel is a good read-alike for fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder.'' --School Library Journal

''Maddie's offbeat sense of humor is the heart of this story from spouses Morris and Brown, which was inspired by their own daughter. Maddie learns to stand up for herself and face her fears head-on in this moving story of courage and heart. Morris and Brown balance the gravity of Maddie's illness with her buoyant imagination as she navigates the reality of the surgery she needs and the politics of sixth grade.'' --Publishers Weekly

''Co-author Brown performs Maddie's story wonderfully; her enthusiasm and emotion shine through without seeming forced or false, making Maddie an even more appealing heroine. The little brothers' charming voices are appropriately childish and there is enough variation among characters to differentiate them from one another. The book's inspiration and the results of her treatments are explained in the concluding author's note by Brown and a letter from Maddie. Maddie is a strong, resourceful, and charming role model who addresses strong topics of bullying, divorce, and illness without being preachy or trite. Hearing her voice through her mother's adds much to her appeal.'' School Library Journal, starred audio review

Awards for Mustaches for Maddie

Alabama Camellia Children’s Choice Award 2019 nominee

Ohio Buckeye Children's Book Award winner 2018

Missouri Mark Twain Award nominee 2019-2020

Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominee 2019

--Awards 2018-2019

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.