Mawson’s Guardian says: Welcome Back, fellow Baffled Ones, Bears, Stuffies, Plushies, artists, writers, bloggers, poets and readers. Once again we are sharing Behind-The-Photo peeks about the making of When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer; A Get Well Soon Gift by Carola Schmidt and illustrated by Mark O’Dwyer (who is also Me, Mawson’s Guardian). This is what the published book looks like:
First, you might want to look again at Episode One of Behind The Photo . The bears’ mission was to show our brave bear, Scotty, getting his Chemotherapy treatment. Our baffled bunch did their best to portray it. But they are bears. Inevitably, they got muddled. In Episode Two they managed to find bits and pieces to create a Delicate Medical Instrument. We left them totally baffled about what to do next. Read on.
Putting the Chemotherapy Drip scene together
Specs (in white coat and glasses): Right, fellow bears. As you can see from my white coat and glasses, I am a bear who Knows Stuff. What seems to be the trouble?
Scotland the Brave (in tartan trews and wonky bowtie): Hello, Specs. Thank goodness you are here. For the photo I am going to sit in the chair that Little Teddy is playing in. But we have to do something with this bag and all the tangled up bits.
Specs: Ah yes. Now then, we plug this bit into that bit, and the plug thingy into this other bit, you see. And we hang the bag on the long shiny pole.
Scotty: Oh well done, Specs. It does look very medical. Come on, Old Yellow and Little Teddy, help me to push the chair under the drip bag stand..
Oscar (with camera): I shall check it looks all right in the camera.
Scotty: Now we are nearly ready! But what do we do with these bits at the end of this long drip line?
Nurse Bree: I’ll help you. Err, ummmm, I’m not sure about how this works, Scotty I’m not really a nurse you know. I’m really Me, Bree, wearing a nurse costume. Hmmmm. I think I’ve got it on to your paw properly. Oh dear, but this cord is so very long. It’s all around me. How did that happen?
Little Teddy: This is great fun. I love playing with this cord. Look, I can wrap it around me. And I can make it go around things.
Nurse Bree: Little Teddy, you keep playing with our delicate medical instrument. You’re tangling it up around ME .. Oh no!
Scotty: Careful not to trip over, Bree. Oh .. Oh .. Too late. Are you all right?
Nurse Bree: Just resting, Scotty. Just resting. Little Teddy, please take this cord thing of me.
Little Teddy: But this is fun. I love playing with delicate medical instruments.
Mawson’s Guardian speaks again.
And did our bears ever finish making a photo of Scotty bravely getting his chemotherapy treatment? Why yes, they did. And the photo appears on the cover of the book!
Details about When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift
Carola Schmidt wrote the book. Carola is an award-winning author of children’s books about cancer including Chubby’s Tale: The True Story of a Teddy. Bear Who Beat Cancer. (See below). She uses her experience as a paediatric oncology pharmacist to write scientific books for Springer Nature. She also wrote Cancer Daily Life, which was Illustrated by Rafael Antonio (see my review).
Where to find When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift.
Amazon everywhere, including Amazon UK and Amazon Australia and Brazil and Canada and India and Japan and Mexico and Sweden. Also Waterstones, Book Depository (with free shipping), Bookshop Org (supporting local bookshops) and more.
Where to also find Chubby’s Book: Book Authority (where Chubby is ranked in Best Leukaemia books of all time), and Amazon, and Book Depository (with free shipping) and more. You can also follow Chubby on Twitter and on Facebook.
You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In and She Ran Away From Love.
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