PROMISES
illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Clarion Books
ages 4-8
 Order This Book 		Sarah remembers when her mom wasn't sick. In those days Mom ran races in the park, and she had lots of dark curly hair. But now she's tired all the time and she goes to the hospital a lot, sometimes even overnight. Sarah misses the way things used to be.

But one day, Sarah figures out a way to make her mom look like everybody else, and soon Mom starts feeling better. Though she can't promise Sarah she'll never get sick again, there are other promises she can make.


THE FIRST PAGE OF PROMISES

My mother is sick.
She goes to the hospital a lot.
Sometimes she goes for two days
and sometimes she goes for longer.
When Mommy leaves,
I hug her really hard.
One time she almost fell over
because I hugged her so tight.
She hugs me back
and whispers that she loves me
and tells me she'll be home soon.
But when she comes home,
she looks very tired
and her face looks yellow
and she goes right to bed
and stays there for a week.
I don't like what they do to her in the hospital.
Daddy says they are making her better,
but I think they're making her worse.
REVIEWS

"A matter-of-fact tone and brisk pace keep Winthrop's story of a girl dealing with her mother's chemotherapy treatments from slipping into the maudlin or melodramatic. The tale convincingly covers young Sarah's gamut of emotions, from simply missing her mother during her hospital stays to reminiscing about times when things were normal to anger at a schoolmate's comments about her mother's lack of hair. Several of the dialogues here could serve as models for parents struggling to explain terminal illness to a child. A responsible and poignant approach to a sensitive subject."
-Publisher's Weekly
FYI: A portion of this book's royalties will be donated to Cancer Care, Inc.



"Winthrop handles a difficult situation with honesty, empathy and small touches of humor. The first-person narration keeps the focus on Sarah who relates events from a child's point of view. The book ends on a hopeful note which is nicely reflected in the smiling faces of mother and daughter."
-School Library Journal


"Filled with the everyday activities and reactions typical of a young child whose parent is suffering from a serious illness, Promises tackles a tough issue head-on without sentimentality and in language readily understandable by young readers. Illustrations of Sarah's mother when she has lost her hair and at the hospital when she is hooked up to an IV provide a realistic yet not overly harsh look at the life of a cancer patient. The hopeful ending highlights a philosophy of living that offers reassurance rather than a clear-cut answer to Sarah's questions about the future."
-Kirkus Reviews

A portion of the royalties from this book will be donated to Cancer Care, Inc.