REVIEW: Mom's Story

Nickum, Mary. Mom’s Story: A Child Learns About MS
978-0-9840836-5-7

Thirty second summary: Amy knows there’s something wrong with her mother, and the disease – multiple sclerosis – sounds scary. With the help of her family and friends, however, she learns that while MS is a serious disease, her mother is going to be okay.

Here’s a bit of a warning, friends: You’re not going to want to grab this book off the shelf and read it for fun. Like any book written mainly for instructional purposes, Mom’s Story is a little light on plot and character development. Dialogue, especially on the part of the younger children, has a tendency to drift – the conversation between Amy and Kayla is one notable example, when neither one is aware of the other’s birthday despite being best friends.

However, with that being said, Mom’s Story definitely accomplishes what it sets out to do – namely, to educate younger readers about a tough topic in an easy to understand and extremely nonthreatening way. Kelly, Tony and Amy each react in a different but understandable way to the news that their mother is ill, showing readers that everyone has their own way of coping with the issue. The more technical information provided at the back of the book is also age-appropriate and should help further explain the disease to children, although the family resources listed at the very end are obviously meant for adults.

Again, while I'm not going to keep a copy around for pleasure reading, I'd definitely suggest the book to any parent who needs help talking to their child about MS, or for any child who needs reassurance that they or a family member are going to be able to live with the disease.

Quotes of Note:

Becky said the doctor was giving her a test called an MRI. What kind of a test is that? I never heard of that kind of test in school. What would that test be like?

"Why do you want to tell big-mouth Kayla? She'll tell the whole school. Nobody needs to know there's something wrong with Mom," Tony said, grabbing and twisting my wrist.

Tasty Rating: !!!

A copy of Mom’s Story was provided to Hungry Readers courtesy of the author. She can be reached at her website: http://www.marynickum.com