When Mom Feels Great, Then We Do Too! Blog Tour: Review and Prize Pack Giveaway

Moms are known to be devoted caregivers. But what can the rest of the family do when mom needs to be cared for? Get inspired by When Mom Feels Great, Then We Do Too!, written by mom and three-time cancer survivor Phyllis Schwartz. Learn about this new release and enter to win a wonderful prize pack, including a $50 gift card!

My Review:

When Mom Feels Great, Then We Do Too! is a heartwarming and uplifting rhyming picture book about family, love and caregiving. When Mom falls ill and needs to rest in bed, the whole family works as a team to help her feel better, from being quiet to cooking her favorite dish, from giving her a tickly foot massage to baking her a tasty treat, and from making the bed to weeding the yard. There are so many ways to cheer up Mom, whose smiles and hugs make everyone feel great!

What the book impresses me most is that it's brimming with positive energy. There is only a brief mention of Mom's illness, with its severity being greatly understated. That's probably what the kids (the narrators) are being told. The sole focus of the story is all the kind and fun things that the kids, along with their Dad and Granny, do to take good care of Mom and to bring her joy and comfort. We see happy faces and feel love throughout the book. The soft hues used in the illustrations create a cozy atmosphere around the family and draw the readers closer to the characters.

While it is written from the children's perspective, the book reads more like a heartfelt thank-you letter from their mom. It manifests the significance of love, care and support from family members. It also inspires us to get creative and not to give up easily when faced with life's toughest challenges. A truly delightful read everyone can enjoy!

About the Book:

Ages 4+ | 38 Pages
Publisher: Acorn Publishing | ISBN-13: 9798885280143

When Mom, one day, came home and said, “I think I better get in bed”
It was up to us to get together
As a team so she’d feel better
We came up with all sorts of things to do
Because “when mom feels great then we do too!”

Purchase Links: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble

M.C. Plays Hide and Seek Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Have you ever tried to help your child understand the rather dreadful disease...cancer? You may get started by reading M.C. Plays Hide and Seek, the first book in the Talk4Hope series written by mom and cancer survivor Eva Grayzel. Learn more about this wonderful book and enter to win a signed copy!

About the Book:

Book Title: M.C. Plays Hide and Seek: An Empowering Story for Healthy Children Who Care About a Person Living with Cancer by Eva Grayzel
Category: Children's Fiction (Ages 3-7), 64 pages
Genre: Children's Picture Book
Publisher: Mascot Books
Release date: Jan 5, 2021
Tour dates: Jan 5 to Feb 1, 2021
Content Rating: G for everyone.

M.C. is a cancer cell who shares just enough information about the nature of the disease to promote dialogue and minimize fear. The scary part of cancer is the unknown. Learn about doctors who look for cancer. Understand feelings children experience and learn ways to cope. Empower children with knowledge and how to make a difference. M.C. Plays Hide & Seek strengthens communication and builds emotional health.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Eva Grayzel | B&N

My Review:

M.C. Plays Hide and Seek is a highly inspiring, informative, and educational book written in kid-friendly language. As a personified creature representing a cancer cell, M.C. brags about how well it plays its favorite game hide and seek. By inviting the reader to play the Name-The-Doctor game, it lists the various kinds of doctors that try to find it and how they go about searching for clues. The game of hide and seek won't be over until M.C. is found. The good news is that it is not contagious.

The latter half of the book addresses children's need to express their feelings when they know that someone they love has been diagnosed with cancer. It also suggests possible ways in which children may help find a cure for cancer and how healthy lifestyle changes may help them outsmart M.C. Good things can still happen despite how mischievious M.C. can get. Love is the most powerful medicine of all!

The combination of pictures of real people and funny cartoons, along with the lighted-hearted tone of the narrator (i.e. M.C.), makes the subject less scary without understating its serious impact. I love how the book encourages us to stay positive and resilient in the face of adversity. It teaches about courage, compassion, kindness, love and support, which are qualities we'd like our children to possess whether cancer is involved or not. I agree with the author that honesty works better than secrecy to help minimize fear. The key is to find the right balance between not enough and too much information based on a child's age and emotional capacity. In my opinion, the book is worth reading for all children, not just those in families affected by cancer.

Support Team Continuum & Win a Prize Pack (3 Winners)!

Founded in 2003, Team Continuum is an NYC based non-profit organization dedicated to providing cancer patients and their family with immediate and vital, non-medical assistance to help them cope with the disruption, hardship and uncertainty in their everyday lives that result from the cancer diagnosis. Over the past years, Team Continuum has raised over $3.5 million to help families battling cancer and to provide funding to improve cancer patient care programs.

Every year, Team Continuum offers charity spots in various athletic races as part of their effort to raise funds and maximize the number of patients Team Continuum helps. Guaranteed but limited entries are now available for the 2011 NYC ING Marathon! Read more about how it works here and here. Please register for your guaranteed entry ASAP as these spots will go fast!

You're strongly encouraged to follow Team Continuum on Twitter and Facebook to support a great cause and to keep up with all upcoming charity events!

The Giveaway

Team Continuum has generously offered to give three of my lucky readers a Team Continuum Prize Pack! Each winner will receive a stylish Team Continuum t-shirt and a cap!

Required Entry: To make this giveaway short and sweet, simply fill out this form with your name and email! Don't forget to visit Team Continuum website and explore ways to support their fight against cancer! No comment is necessary.

Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm Central Time on 5/12/11

Open to US Residents Only

Winners will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Disclosure: I did not receive any form of compensation for hosting this giveaway. Prizes will be delivered directly to the winners from the sponsor.