Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy (Paperback)

by Amelia Frahm (Author) "Before Mommy got sick on the inside, Mommy would tickle and Tabitha would giggle..." (more)
Key Phrases: Tickles Tabitha

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A clarity and candor laced with humor and insight. Very highly recommended for school and community library "health issues" collections." -- The Midwest Book Review, July 2001

"Includes the sudden hush children feel whenever their world isn't what they expect." Today's Dallas Woman. Oct. 2001 -- Today's Dallas Woman, October 2001

"It takes a humorous approach to one of the many down sides of battling cancer- being cantankerous. Eye-popping, gloriously colored." -- Today's Librarian, Sept. 2001

"With no "kid-friendly" resources to explain the physical and emotional changes that result from battling cancer, she wrote one...." -- Barr Laboratories, Inc., Annual Report 2001

Engaging and educating from the dramatic opening to the touching ending, I found myself mesmerized. -- Creative Writing Professor Joann Ludemen Yost, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN Whose mother died of cancer.

I was so touched, it's not an easy topic to convey and Amelia Frahm's done it. -- Randi Kaye WCCO TV, Minneapolis, MN Daughter of a cancer survivor.

Publisher's children's book about her battle with cancer garners national attention. The thing is she scored.... -- Minnapolis Star Tribune, Business Section, July 28,2002

Support for Kids who have a parent with cancer. -- MAMM Magazine, Special Edition Family Matters- Winter 2002

This book is a unique and powerful tool that can help any family facing this unfortunate situation. -- Charla McMichael, R.N. B.S.N. Oncology, University of Michigan Hospital. Daughter of a cancer survivor.

covers even how the delicate infrastructure of day-to-day family issues between husband, wife and children are changed by cancer. -- Susan G. Komen Foundation- July 2001

Product Description
Recommended by critics from every industry including- entertainment, medical and literary! Such as The Rosie O Donnell Show – Entertainment, National Oncology Nursing Society- Medical, Today’s Librarian, Midwest Book Review, Against the Grain, Today's Dallas Woman and other literary reviewers across the country!

Told through the eyes of it's title character, Tickles Tabitha's Cancer-tankerous Mommy uses candor and comic reality to dispel stereotypes and acknowledge some moody truths faced by families LIVING with cancer.

"Mommy's wig was still attached to her head, but she didn’t look so good. The wig-hair stuck out like snarled rat-tails in all directions. There was a crooked horizontal line right where her smile should be. Worst of all she was in no mood to play Tickles Tabitha."

A poignant and humorous account of a Mommy’s moodiness, caused in part by the medicine she must take to cure her cancer. It's about a family that loves one another, minus the sap. Instead it reads like it could be your family; not the family you think you ought to be. Expect young readers to ask to be tickled until their faces turn pink!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Nutcracker Publishing; 1 edition (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970575203
• ISBN-13: 978-0970575203
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 7.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,128 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent children's book, July 30, 2001

By	Ann L. (Hutchinson, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This is a humorous book that deals not just with cancer but with family life. My favorite part is Tabitha's mental picture of Daddy sitting in the time out chair. I wish I had had this book when my children where presented with a close neighbor who had cancer. Wether a child has a parent, grandparent, friend or friend's parent in their life who has cancer, this is an excellent book to use to start talking about it. Because it portrays family life in general in a funny way, it is good for any child.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps kids understand how illness can affect a parent's mood, January 27, 2005

By	Carol Watkins "Psychiatrist" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tabitha's mother has cancer and has to undergo chemotherapy. The treatments make the mother's hair fall out and give her a huge appetite. Worse still, the treatment makes her tired and irritable. Tabitha misses their warm tickle games. Tabitha, her brother and even the cat get frightened when their mother gets angry. When their father sees this, he uses love and humor to help provide support. Tabitha finds a way to get her mother to show her old warmth.

The superb illustrations are warm and expressive. When the picture shows the shadow of the angry mother, wig askew, standing over Tabitha, one really gets the sense of how Tabitha experiences her mother just then.

Mood changes are more difficult for children to understand than the more concrete aspects of an illness. This book does an excellent job of showing how these mood The story is realistic without being scarey. This book would be good not just for children of cancer patients but also for children of parents withother chronic diseases such as Hepatitis C. A variety of illness and treatments can cause an individual to be irritable or moody.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uses humor to deal with sensitive issues, November 28, 2004

By	Shari Kampitsis "rainbomoms" (Brattleboro, VT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My 6 year old daughter loves this book. Her mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and this book deals with issues like crankiness, which is relevant in her life right now. It also covers hair loss, which she is particularly interested in. (The tickling helps make the book more fun, too.) I would recommend this to those who like to add some humore to a bad cancer day.