Help your child learn about coping with illnesses.
For a printable copy of this list, click here: Books for Kids: Illness
The Memory Keeper
Jennifer Camiccia
“A heartfelt tale of an exceptional girl.” —BCCB “Poignant…heartwarming.” —School Library Journal Fish in a Tree meets The Thing About Jellyfish in this heartfelt middle grade debut about long-buried secrets, the power of memory, and the bond between a girl and her grandmother. All Lulu Carter wants is to be seen. But her parents are lost in their own worlds, and Lulu has learned the hard way that having something as rare as HSAM—the ability to remember almost every single moment in her life—won’t make you popular in school. At least Lulu has Gram, who knows the truth about Lulu’s memory and loves her all the more for it. But Gram has started becoming absentminded, and the more lost she gets, the more she depends on Lulu…until Lulu realizes her memory holds the very key to fixing Gram’s forgetfulness. Once Lulu learns that trauma can cause amnesia, all she needs to do to cure Gram is hunt down that painful moment in Gram’s life. With her friends Olivia and Max, Lulu digs into Gram’s mysterious past. But they soon realize some secrets should stay buried, and Lulu wonders if she ever knew Gram at all. It’s up to Lulu to uncover the truth before the only person who truly sees her slips away.
Read More View in CatalogGoing to the Doctor
Anne Civardi
Jenny Jay has a cough, Joey Jay needs his immunization shot, and Jack Jay has a sprained wrist, so the whole Jay family goes to the doctor to find out how to get well.
View in CatalogSadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Eleanor Coerr
Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.
View in CatalogTaking Asthma to School
Kim Gosselin
A young boy describes what it is like to have asthma, what happens during an asthma attack, and how his asthma can be treated and controlled.
View in CatalogTaking Diabetes to School
Kim Gosselin
Uses a simple story about a young boy at school to present information about diabetes. A young boy describes what it is like to have diabetes, how it makes hiim feel, and how it can be treated and controlled.
View in CatalogMostly Monty
Johanna Hurwitz
A shy boy with asthma starts first grade — and comes into his own — in this appealing story for early chapter book readers. Six-year-old Monty doesn’t have a brother, a sister, or a pet. What he does have is asthma, which sometimes makes it hard to breathe and often makes him feel like he’d rather be somebody else. And now that he’s starting first grade, he’s very nervous about being with all those kids he won’t know. Luckily, he loves to read — even really hard books — and has a talent for finding things, from a cocooning caterpillar to classmates who want to be in his very own club. With familiar situations and gentle humor, Johanna Hurwitz follows an endearing character as he discovers that being himself can be pretty great after all.
Read More View in CatalogMy Little Grandmother Often Forgets
Reeve Lindbergh
A child’s love for a grandmother with memory loss shines through in this deeply personal and lyrical tale from author Reeve Lindbergh. Sometimes Tom’s grandmother forgets the way home from the market, or that Tom’s name is Tom and not Roy. But Tom doesn’t mind. He loves to help his grandmother and just spend time with her. The special bond between a beloved grandmother affected by memory loss and her devoted grandson is described in Reeve Lindbergh’s most personal book for children, one that is based on her own and her son’s relationship with her mother in the last years of her life. Kathryn Brown’s watercolor illustrations tenderly capture the unique characters — and the love that is universal.
Read More View in CatalogMom Has Cancer!
Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, Marta Fàbrega
Told from a child's point of view, describes the symptoms and treatment of cancer and discusses the effects on the family of a parent with the disease.
View in CatalogIllness
Patricia J. Murphy
Describes the different types of illnesses, including such long-term diseases as cancer, Parkinson's Disease, and diabetes, and discusses how diseases are diagnosed and what treatment options are available.
View in CatalogThe Hope Tree
Laura Joffe Numeroff, Wendy Schlessel Harpham, David McPhail
A bestselling author and a physician draw on real-life experiences of children whose mothers have breast cancer for this story about a group of animal kids who form a support group.
View in CatalogThe Remember Balloons
Jessie Oliveros
A 2019 Schneider Family Award Honor Book! What’s Happening to Grandpa meets Up in this tender, sensitive picture book that gently explains the memory loss associated with aging and diseases such as Alzheimer’s. James’s Grandpa has the best balloons because he has the best memories. He has balloons showing Dad when he was young and Grandma when they were married. Grandpa has balloons about camping and Aunt Nelle’s poor cow. Grandpa also has a silver balloon filled with the memory of a fishing trip he and James took together. But when Grandpa’s balloons begin to float away, James is heartbroken. No matter how hard he runs, James can’t catch them. One day, Grandpa lets go of the silver balloon—and he doesn’t even notice! Grandpa no longer has balloons of his own. But James has many more than before. It’s up to him to share those balloons, one by one.
Read More View in CatalogThe Lemonade Club
Patricia Polacco
When Marilyn and her teacher, Miss Wichelman, both get cancer, they encourage each other and, aided by medical treatments and support from friends, they get better and learn that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!
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Great-Uncle Alfred Forgets
Ben Shecter
A young girl takes her great-uncle, who is afflicted with Alzheimer's disease, for a walk and gently and patiently answers all his seemingly absurd questions.
View in CatalogWhat’s Happening to Grandpa?
Maria Shriver
Becoming increasingly concerned when her beloved grandfather tells her the same stories repeatedly and then forgets her name, young Kate creates a photo album of their favorite shared memories to help them both cope with his progressing Alzheimer's disease.
Read More View in CatalogCancer Hates Kisses
Jessica Reid Sliwerski
As Mom goes through treatment for cancer, her family supports her with what cancer hates most: love.
View in CatalogMommy Sayang
Rosana Sullivan
In a Malaysian kampung, or village, lives little Aleeya and her dear Mommy sayang. Aleeya and Mommy do everything together, and in Aleeya's dreams, they dance among enormous hibiscus flowers. Aleeya loves to ask Mommy if she will always be by her side. Mommy assures her that she will, Insh'Allah. But one day, Mommy becomes sick. Alone, Aleeya waits for her return, and it's in this moment that Aleeya realizes she can always be by Mommy's side. With a hibiscus flower in hand, Aleeya goes to Mommy's bedside to bring her love and hope. Little by little, Mommy sayang gets better.
Read More View in CatalogFirst Aid for You
Rebecca Weber
Describes first aid techniques for different situations, including cuts, choking, and broken bones.
View in CatalogThe Tide
Clare Helen Welsh
A young girl spends a day on the beach with her grandpa, whose memories are starting to come and go like the tide.
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