Hip Hip Hooray!!! We are singing Happy Book Birthday for a very special book that is near and dear to my heart. It’s actually based on a true story in the life of the author’s family – but it hits home for me, too. Cancer has visited my family – my mother, grandmother, sister, niece, cousin…and myself. And when I heard about BRAVE LIKE MOM by Monica Acker, illustrated by Paran Kim and published by Beaming Books, I was excited to share it with all of you. I recently got to meet Monica in person at a book event for one of my CPs, Carrie Finison, at the wonderful Silver Unicorn bookstore in Acton, MA. It’s always special to get to hug writer friends…and Monica is not only talented, but generous as well…she’s offering a giveaway of a 20-minute Zoom critique chat!! Please make sure you leave a comment on the blog post and share on social media and tag friends…that’s a great way to help authors and illustrators.

Here’s a little bit about BRAVE LIKE MOM from the Amazon sales page:

As one girl watches her mom battle illness, she sees Mom being strong, brave, and fierce on both good days and bad ones. Mom is fierce as she catches and wrestles a fish and brave as she endures needles from the doctor. The girl wants to be brave like Mom! As she worries about her mom’s health, the girl realizes that bravery comes in many forms and that she can be brave too.

A poignant and sensitive story about a loved one living with a chronic illness, and an important lesson about how being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared.

As I mentioned, the story is based on a true story. Monica stopped by to share a bit about how the book came to be and what she hopes the book will do:

MONICA: A bit more about my book: BRAVE LIKE MOM is about a child who is inspired to be brave and strong like her mom, who is living with a serious illness. The book launches today, November 1, 2022 with Beaming Books, and the talented Paran Kim is illustrating. I wrote this story for my sister-in-law and nieces when my sister-in-law was battling cancer. After she passed away, working on the story was an act of healing for me, and my hope is that readers will recognize the strength and bravery they already have.

Thank you so much, Monica, for sharing with us. And thank you for creating a story that will help other families.

Dear readers, we can do our part…we can help the book become successful. We can buy a copy, review it, tell friends about it, and ask our local library to purchase copies for their collection. I hope you do at least one of these things for BRAVE LIKE MOM!

And I hope you all have a wonderful week! I’ll be chatting today with an editor about a manuscript of mine that she received…she’s looking for revision…and I’m ready! Then on Wednesday, I’ll be presenting Sweet Dreams, Sarah on a virtual platform to classes in the Chicago Public Schools. And I’m wishing good luck to all who entered Susanna Hill’s Halloweensie Contest.