You Are the Best Medicine

by Julie Aigner Clark, Jana Christy (Illustrator)

Overview

When someone you love has cancer, how can you make them smile? A cuddle, a story, a kiss—and thoughts of you. Because you are the best medicine.

Watching someone you love go through cancer treatment is scary—especially for a child. In this courageous and sensitive book, cancer survivor Julie Clark creates sweet and poignant memories that remind us how children can nurture people they care about at a time when optimism and love are the most needed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062081377
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/15/2011
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	708,351
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Julie Aigner Clark is a mom, a writer, and a teacher who has survived breast cancer twice. As the founder of the Baby Einstein Company and the Safe Side, Julie has been writing books and creating media for children since 1997 and has sold millions of copies worldwide. You Are the Best Medicine was inspired by her daughters, Aspen and Sierra, and by her husband, Bill.

Julie lives in Colorado with her family, which includes cats, chickens, lovebirds, fish, and a rescued mouse.

Julie is proud to direct her portion of the proceeds from this book to UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center because of its pioneering role in developing life-saving cancer treatments.

Jana Christy is an illustrator who lives with her husband, writer John Seven, and their two kids, Harry and Hugo, in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. This beautiful story came across her drawing board about a year after her stepmom, Debbie Christy, was diagnosed with cancer. Debbie’s strength is a constant source of inspiration, and her cookies, cakes, and raspberry bread pudding are a constant source of happiness.

Jana's illustrations can also be seen in Happy, Sad, Silly, Mad by John E. Mitchell, among many other books.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 3—This book delivers a soothing, lullabylike message from a mother with cancer to her young daughter. Reassuring and tactful, it affirms that love and kindness are the best medicine for anyone who is ill. While Clark addresses scary situations like chemotherapy and hair loss, she does so in a gentle, understanding way. Each of these difficult topics is bridged with memories that the mother has of her daughter as a baby. She explains how her child's first smile, her sweet baby hair, and times she had a cold will help her through her own hardships and fear. A happy ending is included; the mother recovers and rejoices in all the time that she and her daughter will have together in the future. Soft pastel illustrations are as beautiful and gentle as the text, and very child oriented. An important and heartfelt addition for most collections.—Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA

School Library Journal

Cancer is a tough topic for a picture book, but Clark strikes the right tone for young children. A mother answers questions that children often have before they are even asked.Can I catch cancer? Will you go to the doctor a lot? Why will you lose your hair? Will you be sick or tired?Putting a positive spin on such difficult questions is a challenge, but the narrator does so by involving her anxious daughter."There will be some days when I don't feel good, and then I will think of all the times I took care of you when you felt sick... I will be happy when you help me to feel better...." Muted pinks and reds circle mom and daughter as they remember the sweet times of the past that will sustain them.While adults know that it will take a lot more than the love of a child to heal a sick parent, a child will be comforted knowing that her mother plans on getting well and that she plays a role in the healing.(Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews