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UPS and DOWNS
A young girl weathers the highs and lows of daily life with her mother, who has Bipolar Disorder. Her mother’s moods affect her and her brother deeply, and sometimes it can be hard. But she never doubts her mother’s love for a second.
Inspired by the author's own experience growing up with a parent with Bipolar Disorder. The author addresses this in her Author's Note and talks about the number of people affected by this mental illness in North America, making this a great conversation starter and resource for families.
Inspired by the author's own experience growing up with a parent with Bipolar Disorder. The author addresses this in her Author's Note and talks about the number of people affected by this mental illness in North America, making this a great conversation starter and resource for families.
- GenresPicture Books
24 pages, Hardcover
Published September 3, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 12, 2024
First published at https://miramichireader.ca October 31st
Ups and Downs is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young girl, her brother, and their mother. Their mother is smart, knows three languages, and can sing opera. She reads them beautiful stories and loves them very much giving them lots of hugs and kisses. But she suffers from Ups and Downs. Some days she has so much energy that she is up all night doing laundry, some days she has no energy and spends the day in bed. Their mom suffers from Bipolar Disorder, a mental health disability that affects her mood and energy. Sometimes when their mom has low energy and is suffering one of her “down” days, the young girl and her brother must be more independent and make their own supper and their friends can’t come over to play. Her disorder is hard on everyone, but the children never doubt their mother’s love for a second.
In the author’s note, Nancy states that her “aim is that this book will shed light on an often-misunderstood illness and provide reassurance that love conquers all.” She “wrote it to show that even though there are sometimes big struggles when living with bipolar disorder, there is still hope. Bipolar disorder is a serious- but treatable- mental health disorder that nearly 400,000 Canadians and 2.3 million Americans have.”
She “wrote it to show that even though there are sometimes big struggles when living with bipolar disorder, there is still hope. Bipolar disorder is a serious- but treatable- mental health disorder that nearly 400,000 Canadians and 2.3 million Americans have.”
It is great to see books being published that tackle the subject of mental health with sensitivity and that these books are being made available to schools, daycares, and libraries. Ups and Downs by Nancy MacNairn is a wonderful educational tool to help children understand Bipolar Disorder or to understand what their peers may be experiencing at home and that their “normal” may be quite different.
Ups and Downs is a beautifully illustrated picture book about a young girl, her brother, and their mother. Their mother is smart, knows three languages, and can sing opera. She reads them beautiful stories and loves them very much giving them lots of hugs and kisses. But she suffers from Ups and Downs. Some days she has so much energy that she is up all night doing laundry, some days she has no energy and spends the day in bed. Their mom suffers from Bipolar Disorder, a mental health disability that affects her mood and energy. Sometimes when their mom has low energy and is suffering one of her “down” days, the young girl and her brother must be more independent and make their own supper and their friends can’t come over to play. Her disorder is hard on everyone, but the children never doubt their mother’s love for a second.
In the author’s note, Nancy states that her “aim is that this book will shed light on an often-misunderstood illness and provide reassurance that love conquers all.” She “wrote it to show that even though there are sometimes big struggles when living with bipolar disorder, there is still hope. Bipolar disorder is a serious- but treatable- mental health disorder that nearly 400,000 Canadians and 2.3 million Americans have.”
She “wrote it to show that even though there are sometimes big struggles when living with bipolar disorder, there is still hope. Bipolar disorder is a serious- but treatable- mental health disorder that nearly 400,000 Canadians and 2.3 million Americans have.”
It is great to see books being published that tackle the subject of mental health with sensitivity and that these books are being made available to schools, daycares, and libraries. Ups and Downs by Nancy MacNairn is a wonderful educational tool to help children understand Bipolar Disorder or to understand what their peers may be experiencing at home and that their “normal” may be quite different.
November 23, 2024
Tenderly and realistically written story about coping with a parent who has bipolar disorder. The young girl who narrates shares about up nights and down days and how she has to be the parent at times. I appreciate MacNairn emphasizing the love mom feels even as she copes with her mental health. The acknowledgement that this happens and ways to be a family can be worked out.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews