Hello, lovely bookish friends!
It has not been long ago when I posted my first proper post dedicated to picture books (you can check it out here if you’re interested in reasons why should, as an adult, really pick them up!), and I promised you there was more to come. Well, today I’m keeping my promise and bringing you a very special picture book!
Bald is Beautiful: A Letter for a Fabulous Girl is a wonderful, beautiful and life-affirming picture book that comes in the form of one long letter. The illustrations as well as the words alike are touching and heart-warming. It is addressed to a young girl, I can’t really say how old she is but that’s part of the beauty, and in the first picture we see that she’s at the hair dresser’s and goes home bald. Girls from a kindergarten age on and up to adult women who suffer from hair loss due to any medical condition – be it cancer, alopecia or anything else that has it as a side-effect – will be reminded that they are beautiful, just as every other girl – that life in general has its ups and downs for everybody, and that good times will come too.
The book is extremely deep, but the deep message comes wrapped up in colourful, beautiful illustrations and light words. It reminds the girl, the addressee of the letter, that she is beautiful, bald or not, before the hair loss or afterwards, that she can can still wear pretty dresses, pretty makeup and should still meet up with her friends. It tells the girl (as well as the reader) that girls should always watch out for each other, support each other, and be there for one another. I absolutely loved this message and it gave me goosebumps all over.
The word ‘cancer’ is never mentioned, and there is no picture of a doctor or hospital, which is why I think it’s perfect for every girl and every woman dealing with extreme hair loss. This book does not explain scientific conditions or the treatments for diseases, but it reinforces the importance of friendship, love, and underlines every sufferers beauty – clearly something that many patients of the various diseases (or treatments thereof) that bring about hair loss forget about or have problems seeing in themselves.
This book feels like warm a hug. There is no sadness and there are no tears, just music and smiles and get-togethers and makeup and pretty dresses and colourful scarfes. It is sunshine and smiles and happiness and warmth wrapped up in a picture book.
Hey, girl,
You’re beautiful…
And LOVED!
Life is bitter, but it’s also sweet.
No matter your age or where you are, you can achieve your dreams.
You just need to accept yourself and be proud of who you are.
Life brings us challenges all the time.
I heard you’ll go or maybe you are already bald.
You know what?Bald is powerful,
Bald is feminine,
Bald is delicate,
Bald is beautiful,
Bald is lovely,
Bald is strong.
From Goodreads
“Bald is Beautiful: A letter for a fabulous girl” is an inspiring and lovely illustrated letter for girls of any age who will go or already are bald. It’s a perfect gift to send love to a powerful girl who needs to be reminded how beautiful and loved she is. It’s not a book that explains scientific conditions, disease, and treatment. It’s about love, beauty, happiness, and friendship when going through various changes in our lives.
Bald is Beautiful comes like a hug, and it’s the perfect gift for girls aged 4-100 years and up.
This book is ideal for:
Girls and women who are fighting cancer
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month gifts
Pink October gifts
Cancer Awareness gifts
Children receiving chemo for leukemia, lymphoma or another hematology disease
Chemotherapy gifts
Hat/ scarf party gifts
Kids with any type of alopecia (totalis, universalis, etc)
Kids’ cancer books for hospitals
Temporary or permanent hair loss
Hair loss related or not to cancer treatment
About the Author and Illustrator
Carola Schmidt is a pediatric oncology pharmacist, as well as the author of children’s books about cancer and scientific books for Springer Nature. She is in the BookAuthority list of “81 Best Leukemia Books of All Time” with Chubby’s Tale: The true story of a teddy bear who beat cancer. You can usually find her on Twitter @_CarolaSchmidt.
Dian Ovieta is a children’s book illustrator who is really in love with anything about the children’s world.
