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Summary
Summary
It's family picture time for the Carters, but Mama does not want to be in the photo this year. All of her beautiful hair is gone because of chemotherapy treatments for her cancer, and she doesn't want to be remembered without hair. Eight-year-old Marcus knows that the picture won't be the same without Mama, so he comes up with a plan to find her some hair and make her better. Even though the plan doesn't work in quite the way Marcus expects, he comes to understand that "hair is nice to have, but not as nice as me having Mama and Mama having me."
This is a story for every family dealing with a serious illness. It is told with a touch of gentle humor in a style that children will readily understand, and the warm and inviting illustrations will bring comfort and hope to young and old alike.
Author Notes
Kelly Ann Sherwood was born & raised in Newaygo County Michigan. She completed her college education at Valley Forge Christian College with a degree in missions. Kelly married Mark Tinham in May 1987. They have two wonderful boys, Justin and Jarred.
As an author, Kelly has written articles for local newspapers and national magazines such as Faces. She completed training with the institute of children's literature.
Kelly makes author visits to schools and libraries. She works as a librarian at Newaygo area district library and is the reader for Carnegie on the road.
Most recently, Kelly released Hair For Mama in May 2007. Hair For Mama is a children's picture book published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a Division of Penguin Young Readers Group and illustrated by Amy June Bates.
Reviews (3)
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Who is affected when a family member gets sick? Everyone. The opening illustration shows a family photo -- Mama with her long braids looped together like a ""beautiful black crown,"" sister Yolanda in braids and beads, young Stevie and Papa in short naturals, and narrator Marcus in his fade. But the idyllic photo shows the family last year, before Mama got cancer. And just when Mama is at her sickest and frailest, and has lost all her hair, it's time for the traditional annual picture. Mama doesn't want to be remembered like this, but Marcus is convinced that taking the family picture will help her get better, and he determines to find Mama some hair. Tinkham, writing from personal experience, gets all the little details right but does not bathe her story in sadness. Careful watercolor-and-pencil illustrations in warm hues capture the heart of this uplifting story. And whether Mama is wearing braids or a gele wrapped around her head (as she waits for her hair to grow back in), she is still the same Mama. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A realistic look at a strong family facing cancer. "Hair has always been important to us Carters," says Marcus, and each family member has a specific hairstyle for annual picture day. Mama usually "loops and gathers her braids together like a beautiful black crown." But this year, things are different: Mama has cancer, and treatment has taken her hair away. Marcus offers her costume wigs in a store, but she declines. Conflating the hair loss (and Mama's plan to skip picture day) with the unbearable possibility of Mama dying, Marcus takes action. At the barber shop, he gets all his hair shaved, planning to take it home for Mama to use. When the barber inadvertently discards it, Marcus breaks down sobbing, but his rock-steady parents are there. Mama agrees to pictures while wearing a gele (headwrap), and her future--while not certain--looks hopeful. Regrettably, the specific hairstyles--Marcus's fade and his sister's braids and beads, for example--are visually indistinct. However, Bates's tender watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are warm in color and feeling, matching the depth of emotions perfectly. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This story, straightforward and sweet, is nonetheless heart-wrenching. Marcus' mother does not want to be in this year's family photograph; she has lost her beautiful long, braided hair to chemotherapy treatments. When Marcus goes to get his face trimmed for the picture, he asks the barber to cut all his hair off so he can give it to Mama. Before he knows it, the hair has been swept up and thrown away, but now Marcus looks like Mama. She is so touched that she wraps her head in a gele and sits for the family photo. Told in Marcus' tender yet energetic first-person voice, this offers explanation as well as story, as the boy describes cancer and chemotherapy. Bates uses golds and browns, accented with blues and greens, for the warm images of this African American family. Without sentimentality, both text and art capture the fear, pain, and hope that come with chemotherapy for a family member. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2007 Booklist
