Co-authored with Shayna Vincent, Mama’s Year with Cancer is illustrated by Wazza Pink and releases Sept. 28 from Albert Whitman & Company. This tender story explores the impact of a parent's cancer diagnosis on a child’s daily life, while offering kids ways to help loved ones on their recovery journey.
“Informative and reassuring.”— Kirkus Reviews Read this lovely review online here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nancy-churnin/mamas-year-with-cancer/
"To whom would you recommend this book? Children ages 4-8, especially if they know someone struggling with cancer treatments. It will help them remember that there are still good times, that they can help out, and it can give them an idea of some things they might have to deal with."
Thank you, Vicky Tandy at Athol Public Library in Massachusetts for this 5-star review on behalf of Youth Services Book Reviews and #MassachusettsLibrarians. Read the full review here: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2023/08/17/mamas-year-with-cancer-by-nancy-churnin-and-shayna-vincent-illustrated-by-wazza-pink/
A lovely review by Stephanie Fitzpatrick for fyi50plus. Read the review here: https://fyi50plus.com/grand-times-reading-with-your-grandkids/
STEM lessons for the classroom using Mama’s Year with Cancer. Read the LitLinks post by Nancy and Shayna on Patricia Newman’s wonderful blog here and here: https://www.patriciamnewman.com/litlinks-how-to-explain-cancer-to-kids-with-kidlit/#prettyPhoto
Shayna Vincent and I talk with Maria Marshall about what our journey with Mama’s Year with Cancer has meant to us. Read the full story here: https://www.mariacmarshall.com/single-post/the-picture-book-buzz-interview-w-nancy-chrunin-shanya-vincent-review-of-mama-s-year-w-cancer
Thank you to the wonderful Dallas Ladies Auxiliary Jewish War Veterans Post # 256 at JCC Dallas for honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a presentation of Mama’s Year with Cancer. Shayna’s mother, Johannah Luza, and daughter, Mila, spoke beautifully. Many bought books to donate to libraries, Jewish Family Service and schools. Thank you, Jo Reingold for inviting us. Thank you, Ilene Feibel Zidow for taking fabulous photos.
A Q & A with Deborah Kalb about Mama’s Year with Cancer, co-authored with Shayna Vincent, and my other 2023 books. Read the interview here: https://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/2023/10/q-with-nancy-churnin.html
Heartbroken to share that Shayna wasn’t here to enjoy our launch party. But we continued as we knew she would want us to. Shayna’s daughter, Mila, the narrator of the book, signed bookplates. All of us who love Shayna are grateful to all who love and support her and our book.
Looking forward to Shayna’s mother, Johannah Luza, joining me when I present Mama’s Year with Cancer at the Dallas Hadassah Breast Cancer Awareness Luncheon at The Legacy at Willow Bend on October 10. Thank you to Hadassah present Marjorie Rosenberg for the invitation and for all Hadassah does to heal the world.
This is the first story that has posted since Shayna lost her courageous five-year battle with breast cancer on Sept. 12, 2023. We are all grieving. We hope you will help Shayna’s spirit live on through helping others as she hoped this book would do for families living with cancer. You can read the full post here: https://groggorg.blogspot.com/2023/09/interview-with-author-nancy-churnin-on.html
A poster and bookmarks and cookie, oh my! Thank you to my publisher, Albert Whitman for the poster and bookmarks and Rare Treats Baking Company for the cookie!
Shayna’s daughters, Mila and Avivah, reading their mom’s book.
Mama’s Year with Cancer is Shayna Vincent’s story. She has had bookmarks made to thank everyone who becomes part of her story by reading and supporting our book.
Loved sharing MAMA’S YEAR WITH CANCER with co-panelist authors and educator friends at NerdCampPA!
Mama’s Year with Cancer is the story of co-author Shayna Vincent told by her daughters, Mila and Avivah Vincent, pictured here.
Proud of Shayna Vincent , my co-author of MAMA'S YEAR WITH CANCER, for helping children understand what cancer is & how to support families living with it. Thx, Deb Schulman Silverthorn at Texas Jewish Post for this fabulous story. Coming in September: https://tjpnews.com/shayna-vincents-journey-shared-for-kids/
This poignant and true story follows a child who watches her mother go through the pain and distress of hospital stays, surgery, and chemotherapy. She helps her mother by sharing jokes, crafting get-well cards, and giving hugs, and she tries to be understanding when they can’t do all the things they used to do. Finally, after a year of treatment, her mother gets to ring the bell that means she is better.
Wow! MAMA’S YEAR WITH CANCER was a #1 New Release on the first day it became available for pre-orders!
Best Sellers Rank: #8,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#11 in Children's Books on Diseases & Physical Illness
#44 in Children's Parents Books
At Kent Elementary in Carrollton, Shayna Vincent talks to students about Mama’s Year with Cancer for the first time.
Everyone who knew Shayna Vincent is broken by her loss -- her husband and daughters, brothers, sister-in-law, all her family and friends. The air and light are not as bright.
I had the privilege of knowing Shayna through her mother and her darling daughters, particularly Mila, who used to come to my book events, and was excited to become Dallas' youngest theater and book critic with her Mila Says & Mila Books It columns for Fyi50plus -- which were my joy to edit. Shayna loved Mila's adventures, too, keeping a scrapbook of Mila's reviews and making sure she was dressed "appropriately" for each show and book review -- which meant a "cat" outfit for Cats and a skirt with chimney sweeps for Mary Poppins.
Shayna was all kindness. She collaborated with me on her first and now only picture book, Mama's Year with Cancer, because she wanted children like her daughters to know what to expect, how they might feel and how they could help during a parent's cancer journey.
She was so happy about her October launch party and book events. She had her custom-made bookplates and bookmarks, which she designed with loving care, and poster at the ready.
Even in the last week of her life, before her youngest's 5th birthday, which fell on Sept. 9 when she was in the hospital -- the very hospital where Avivah had been born -- she insisted on celebrating her child's birthday as she always celebrated her children's birthdays -- with acts of kindness. She was closer to the end than anyone realized and feeling awful. Even so, she insisted on personally buying goodies and together, with her girls, giving out baskets of treats to chemo nurses.
Shayna fought cancer as long as she could. She got to ring the bell -- the hopeful period of time we focused the book about -- before cancer returned and metastasized, bringing her to Stage 4. She endured painful treatment after treatment. She wanted so badly to be here with us. She almost made it to the Jewish New Year. There is a Jewish teaching that says that those who die just before the Jewish New Year -- Rosh Hashanah -- are the ones G-d has held back until the last moment because they were needed most and were the most righteous. I believe that with all my broken heart.
Please help keep Shayna's spirit alive by sharing her story and being kind to others. We no longer have the brightness that was her life, but memories of her and all she did and stood for can brighten what she left behind. May her memory be a blessing and comfort always.
—Nancy