Have you ever looked for books to help your child cope with an upcoming surgery, or to help your child get through a long bout of illness? If you have, then you know that most children’s books in this genre are based on one type of surgery (eg, ear tubes) or for minor activities like visiting the dentist. Very few books are out there for children who might be at the hospital each week, or for kids whose health problems won’t go away but instead need to be actively managed. How do they cope?
Sprague's entry into the Scholastic KAA competition
Under the guidance of Sprague School’s art teacher, 21 current 4th and 5th graders at Sprague created this book using techniques of collage, photo cropping, colored pencil drawings and more back in June 2008 before Ben’s double femoral osteotomies. The idea had been to empower Ben during his upcoming surgeries and to emphasize the ways in which Ben makes sure he has fun during his many trips to the hospital– but it also really helped the kids work together on a fun art and writing project!
Now, the kids are submitting their work to the Kids Are Authors national competition hosted by the Scholastic Book Fairs. We know it’s a long shot, but we believe in optimism! Thank you Jen Stabnick for making this possible!
