May 5-11 is Children’s Book Week; in recognition of this initiative that celebrates children’s literature, we wanted to create a special edition book club that focuses on selections that support children who have a loved one with cancer.
If a family member or loved one is going through cancer treatment, there are many books you can read for insight, tips, and new ways to both emotionally connect and help navigate everyone’s feelings. For children, finding the right books to read can help them understand their own feelings and get a clearer picture of what’s happening to their loved one as they go through treatment.
Below, we share book recommendations that can be read to a younger child or given to an older child who has questions or wants to navigate their own path to understanding.
1) How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? by Vanessa Bayer
Long before her stint on Saturday Night Live, comedian Vanessa Bayer overcame leukemia as a teenager. Her beautiful book, with illustrations by Rosie Butcher, teaches kids how to help and cope when a loved one, relative or friend, is going through treatment for cancer.
2) The Lemonade Club by Patricia Polacco
The Lemonade Club focuses on elementary school best friends, Traci and Marilyn, and their experience when Marilyn is diagnosed with cancer and starts chemotherapy. Traci enlists the support of their entire fifth-grade class in providing support for Marilyn – a real metaphor for turning lemons into lemonade during cancer treatment.
3) What Happens When Someone I Love Has Cancer by Sara Olsher
A great read for children ages 4-10, this book shares tips for how to explain cancer to your children, as well as how that diagnosis is going to change their daily life. Inspired by the author’s own cancer experience, this book empowers kids with new knowledge so they don’t feel alone and answers some of their questions through creative storytelling.
4) The Year My Mother Was Bald by Ann Speltz
A bit of a longer read at 64 pages, this book is designed for older children (8-12) to read on their own if they choose, built as a scrapbook and journal to keep track of a girl named Clare as she chronicles her mother’s breast cancer treatment, as well as her own feelings, questions and concerns.
5) My Parent Has Cancer and It Really Sucks by Marc and Maya Silver
Designed specifically with teens in mind, author Maya Silver collected stories from over 100 teenagers going through similar experiences while their parents were going through cancer treatment. Maya also shares her own stories and thoughts from when her mother was diagnosed with cancer when she was 15 years old.
6) Cancer Hates Kisses by Jessica Reid Sliwerski
A few months after giving birth to her daughter, author Jessica Reid Sliwerski was diagnosed with breast cancer. After speaking with other moms with cancer, Jessica felt compelled to write a book that helped parents explain cancer to children. Cancer Hates Kisses is a picture book that walks through all stages of cancer treatment and can be used to help facilitate conversations with younger children.
7) Nowhere Hair by Sue Glader
Nowhere Hair follows a little girl’s search for her mother’s missing hair. She then learns her mom is undergoing cancer treatment, what that means, and the changes it brings. Written in rhyme, this book provides insights into cancer treatments in a digestible way for children.
8) A Mom of Many Hats by Debbie Fink and Lisa Perea Hane
This storybook follows siblings Olivia and Brad as they navigate their mother’s cancer diagnosis. As their mother undergoes treatment and loses her hair, the children organize a surprise “hat shower” to lift her spirits. The guests bring a wide variety of hats, each symbolizing a different virtue. Designed for school-aged children, A Mom of Many Hats opens a dialogue on how to support a loved one with cancer.
9) Ask Puff! A Kid’s Guide to Understanding Cancer by Chelsey Gomez
Ask Puff! is an illustrated children’s book that breaks down cancer in a simple, kid-friendly way. Guided by a character named Puff, the book helps children understand what cancer is, how it’s treated, and how it might affect someone they love.
10) You Are the Best Medicine by Julie Aigner Clark
Told from a mother’s perspective, You Are the Best Medicine walks through the physical changes and emotional challenges experienced during cancer treatment. She tells her child that her hugs, kisses, and comfort help her feel better. Author Julie Aigner Clark highlights the power of family, connection, and optimism in this heartfelt picture book.
Have you found the words of a particular author or storyteller helpful? Leave us a note, or let us know if there’s a book you’d like to see highlighted during the upcoming months of our Book Club.
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