Mustaches for Maddie - Hardcover

Chad Morris; Shelly Brown

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1629723304 ISBN 13: 9781629723303

Publisher: Shadow Mountain, 2017

Synopsis

A funny, inspiring story about when life's raindrops fall. Based on a true story.

Maddie has a quirky sense of humor and a fondness for sporting fake mustaches, the more outrageous-looking, the better. Her world is turned upside down when she's diagnosed with a brain tumor. Readers will take the journey with her as she battles her illness and encounters the usual obstacles of growing up by using her imagination to conquer her fears, her humor to stay optimistic, and compassion to stay connected to others in a meaningful way. Innocently and unknowingly, her example encourage those around her.

Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She's been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it's curled against her chest and she's constantly tripping over her feet. But that's probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?

When Maddie's arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She's understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears--all of them--at the hospital, at home and at school.

She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie's bossiness turns into bullying.

And as Maddie's surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don't get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?

It will take all of Maddie's vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness-both given and received-and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her.

About this title

About the Author:

Chad Morris and Shelly Brown are the proud parents of four sons and one daughter, Maddie, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was nine.

Chad grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. Neither of those plans quite panned out, so he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college. Now he s a teacher and a writer.

Shelly loves to write books for children. In her spare time, she enjoys the theater and traveling. In addition to her five children, she has three chickens and sixty-four Pez dispensers.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4–6—Twelve-year-old Maddie Bridger has a great imagination. She likes to imagine herself heroically fighting monsters, or even speaking out when Cassie, the most popular girl in her class, excludes other people at recess. But then Maddie comes face-to-face with an unexpected foe: a brain tumor that is affecting the right side of her body, and may leave her blind if it isn't removed. While trying to cope with the life-threatening prospect of brain surgery, Maddie also faces challenges at school: Cassie is jealous that Maddie has been cast as Juliet in the upcoming Shakespearean short plays, and starts a rumor that Maddie invented the tumor to get attention. At first Maddie is furious that Cassie could tell such a terrible lie, but she begins to realize that Cassie is facing challenges of her own. Meanwhile, although her first surgery is a success, a cyst on the part of the tumor the surgeon couldn't remove leaves her in renewed danger, and facing an even riskier surgery. Based on the true story of the authors' daughter, this is a moving novel about a truly brave girl. Maddie is a wonderfully thoughtful, creative, and funny protagonist, with whom readers will identify as she grapples with her social and physical challenges . The title comes from her love of fake mustaches, which she carries around to lighten the mood wherever she goes, and which become a viral sensation when she is hospitalized. Although the novel does not reveal the outcome of Maddie's second surgery, an author's note explains that the real Maddie recovered completely, and that thousands of people really did wear fake mustaches to show their support for her. VERDICT This poignant and uplifting novel is a good read-alike for fans of R.J. Palacio's Wonder.—Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA

About this edition

• Publisher: Shadow Mountain
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1629723304
• ISBN 13: 9781629723303
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256