Sammy's Broken Leg (Oh, No!) and the Amazing Cast That Fixed It by Judith Wolf Mandell, Lise C Brown (Illustrations)

One minute your child is fine. The next minute, a broken bone. Hours later, in a clunky cast. For weeks or months, sidelined from favorite activities. If your child is like Sammy, (s)he gets glum and grumpy as days slog by.

Help is pages away in Sammy's Broken Leg (Oh, No!) and the Amazing Cast That Fixed It , a whimsical book to entertain a child in a cast for healing a broken bone, or in a spica cast for hip correction (hip dysplasia).

Children in a cast will delight in a troupe of Kisses who cheer for Sammy and coach her to be patient. The Kisses are Sammy's secret: only she can hear them. How and when they whooshed into her life will amaze and amuse.

It all goes to prove: One Kiss for a Boo-Boo. A Bazillion Kisses for a Cast!

Lavished with colorful, quirky illustrations, Sammy's Broken Leg (Oh, No!) and the Amazing Cast That Fixed It is entertaining, educational and encouraging. The book:


Gives children and families realistic expectations about weeks or months of healing time. Eases children's fears, calms parents' anxieties. Hands parents a tool to boost their child's (and their own) patience.


About The Author

SAMMY'S BROKEN LEG (OH, NO!) AND THE AMAZING CAST THAT FIXED IT began with a phone call: could I watch our infant granddaughter while my daughter rushed the two-year-old to the pediatrician. An "Oh, No!" fall had broken her leg. Eleven hours later I was handed a sleepy, scared child encased in purple fiberglass. The words "beached whale" came to mind.

The next month was hard as we watched pain, immobility and disruption of her vigorous life turn our granddaughter into a sad, scrawny version of her robust self. I vowed to someday write a book to help other young children and their families cope with the physical and emotional upset of life interrupted by a cast.

SAMMY'S BROKEN LEG (OH, NO!) AND THE AMAZING CAST THAT FIXED IT:

*gives children and their families realistic expectations about a prolonged recuperation; and
*gives children a secret, whimsical source of power over their circumstance. The idea of a troupe of cheerleading kisses came as an "A-ha," inspired by a line from CYRANO DE BERGERAC: "A kiss is the rosy dot over the 'i' of loving."

With degrees from top-notch universities -- a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Arts from Harvard Graduate School of Education -- I've had a razzle-dazzle writing career. I've been publicist for The Viking Press in Manhattan; in San Diego, public television producer, print journalist, mayoral press secretary and public relations practitioner; book reviewer and essayist. SAMMY is my first book.

My Review

From the cover on, the illustrations in this darling book are going to draw you and your little one into the story.

Kissing the boo boo but more when disaster hits and Sammy breaks a thighbone and ends up in a life altering cast. Your heart will break for the little one, but the love shown and the showers of kisses bring hope.

Loved the calendar with the big X’s to count off the days, a great idea for a parent to use to help show how the time is counting down.

Highly recommend this book to have on hand as a gift for another child, or maybe your own. Written with love and lots of kisses.

I received this book from the Cadence Group and was not required to give a positive review.