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With its emphasis on empathic understanding, people of all ages can relate to this children’s picture book with its straightforward information about amputation. Sara has a ten-year-old child’s curiosity as she watches her friend Boo-Boo go through the trauma of the amputation of a part of her body. Sara’s persuasive curiosity and candor, as well as her friendship with Boo-Boo, who must undergo this life-saving operation, carry the story forward to the ultimate removal of Boo-Boo’s leg at the knee.
The way that Sara handles the distress of Boo-Boo as she goes through the process of first the amputation of her toes and then, because that was not successful in alleviating her pain, a second operation that removes her leg to the knee is encouraging medicine for those impacted by amputation. Both Sara and Boo-Boo find sadness and humor in their friendship and in learning to move on with life.
With a friendship that creates the opportunity for the story to be told through a child’s observations, Garcia has brought the trauma of amputation and the everyday difficulties that Boo-Boo must overcome front and center. Using Sara as the storyteller allows Garcia to portray Boo-Boo and her caregivers in a compassionate, honest way. The colorful illustrations go a step further than the usual characters as they provide drawings of both a healed amputation and a prosthesis. Garcia has created a children’s story that can help young readers begin the process of understanding what amputees and their friends must overcome on their life journeys.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review