Kathy's Hats: Critical Review

Krisher, Trudy. Kathy's Hats. Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 1992.

The Story Kathy’s Hats is a book about a young girl who grew up with a typical childhood up until the age of 9. At the age of 9, Kathy was diagnosed with cancer and was prescribed chemotherapy for treatment. At the result of chemotherapy, Kathy began to loose her hair. This book describes Kathy’s insecurities in regards to her hair loss and her apprehension to be accepted. Kathy also describes other feelings of anger, hurt and pain. At the end of the book, the hat that Kathy wore to disguise her illness was thrown off in unison with her other classmates who also had on hats in support of Kathy. This is symbolic for the support that Kathy and her classmates had for one another’s differences. Kathy also understands in the conclusion of the book that differences come in many forms, “Adrianne wished that she would grow. I wished that I had my hair back” (Krisher, 17). The ending of this book is empowering; the overall message is that everyone is unique and if you learn to look pass the differences, you are more alike than you think. I felt that this book was eye opening into the eyes of cancer. However, I feel as though the intended audience is not appropriate. This book is intended to enlighten younger students into the issues of cancer. This could be used to inform younger students however I feel that it would only be appropriate accompanying instruction. Some of the images are slightly advanced and a younger audience might be confused. There are pictures of Kathy receiving chemotherapy and losing hair. In order for younger students to receive the intended message, I feel it would be beneficial to instruct, read aloud and take questions. Also, this is a sensitive topic that some parents may feel apprehensive about exposing their children to. Therefore, parental consent is a necessity.  Although this book ended with Kathy’s full recovery, I found myself being sad and slightly depressed while reading this book. Therefore another thing to consider is the appropriate time for a book like this with such an emotionally stimulating topic. In my opinion, the author of this book is an “informed insider”; she is the mother of a child with cancer who is portrayed as Kathy in the book.

**Image was retrieved from www.amazon.com