Reviews
REVIEWS
Read what critics and readers alike have to say about Diane Davies' work. From professional reviews by organizations like Kirkus Reviews to heartfelt messages from readers, discover the impact of Diane's storytelling and advocacy.
Kirkus Reviews
TITLE INFORMATION
JEANNIE ANN'S GRANDMA HAS BREAST CANCER
Diane Davies
Illus. by C.A. Nobens Beaver's Pond Press (32 pp.)
$15.95 hardcover, $11.99 paperback, $9.99 e-book ISBN: 9781643439914
January 22, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
In this illustrated children’s book, some key information helps a little girl process her beloved grandmother’s journey through breast cancer.
Biracial first grader Jeannie Ann is worried when she learns that Grandma has breast cancer. But Mom and Grandma listen to her concerns and explain what is happening in terms she (and young readers) can understand. Davies, the author of children’s books and From There to Here: A Breast Cancer Journey (2015), is a breast cancer survivor. Her sensitive narrative, in Jeannie Ann’s voice, is both comprehensive and presented with unforced simplicity. Mom reassures Jeannie Ann that cancer isn’t catching “like a cold or the flu.” (The girl is “very glad to hear that!”) She learns that Grandma’s breast with a tumor in it will be removed in an operation called a mastectomy; that hugs must be gentle after the surgery; and that Grandma’s hair loss and stomach upsets will be due to chemotherapy, “a special medicine that travels through her whole body and kills any cancer cells that got left behind.” Later, Jeannie Ann relates that Grandma wants “her hair to come back curly” so she will “look more like me!” Throughout, the caring words and kind actions of the characters model compassion. The full-page and smaller images by prolific children’s book author and illustrator Nobens are rendered in a refined cartoon style with fine lines, soft watercolor hues, and a variety of thoughtful details (the characters’ expressive faces and body language, family photographs on a side table, and patterned fabrics). The work includes useful suggestions for how to listen and communicate when a family member has cancer and a resource list of cancer organizations’ phone numbers and websites.
This empathetic and engaging tale offers a child’s perspective on a loved one’s health crisis.
REVIEW
Jeannie Ann’s Grandma Has Breast Cancer
“Cancer. The mere mentioning of the word can bring people all assortments of feelings: fear, dread, sorrow, despair. We live in an age where there is just too much information about the disease; unfortunately, most of it comes from websites that preach the horrors of having cancer at the very first headache you have. Now imagine how it can affect a child’s mind – they have easy access to the web and will rush to it if they learn that cancer is now a part of their everyday life, especially when its painful claws grasp a loved member of the family.
It intends to reach out to the public – the children who have relatives or friends who suffer from cancer – that Diane Davies lovingly wrote the book Jeannie Ann’s Grandma Has Breast Cancer. Its pages do not bring a cold medical point of view and words; instead, as you read, you’ll get to be much like Jeannie Ann’s playing buddy, as you will hear this little girl speak of the harrowing situation from her own perception. It is a very reachable choice of language that literally speaks to children in a better way than we adults can try to elaborate.
In fact, the book tackles very difficult matters and questions in a way that explains all that has to be understood without pretenses of blind optimism. Davies masterfully weaves the innocence of Jeannie Ann along with her own experience as a survivor of breast cancer herself. That allows for a sensitive yet very informational and even soothing take on one of the toughest topics that anyone – namely a child – has to absorb. But be not disheartened: Davies and Jeannie Ann’s story is one of realism, but also of very well-grounded hopes, all of it embraced by the wholesome drawings by veteran illustrator CA Nobens. A must-read book, because the reality of cancer can always be a factor – perhaps not the deciding factor – in our lives.”
— Moving Words Review
“Diane, your new book “Life in the Neck Advent of Christmas” is a great story! I can’t wait to read it to my Granddaughter Zoey! All of your books are fun, clever and full of adventure. Please keep writing. You have an amazing storytelling talent! It was nice seeing you today. Thanks for bringing me your book!”
— Julie Rowe Hicks
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