Adele Pfrimmer Hensley
Annotated bibliography of children's literature
4th World Parkinson’s Congress, Portland Oregon, 2016
AdeleHensley.com
Ali, R., & Ali, M. (2005). I'll hold your hand so you won't fall: A child's guide to Parkinson's disease. West Palm Beach, FL: Merit Publishing International.
Following a foreword by Muhammad Ali, this book is very fact based. This book has thick pages and a library binding. Suitable for all ages, especially for older readers.
Andrews, Ann. 2016. Grandma's Brain. July Publishing. Auckland, New Zealand.(
Grandma reads a story with her two grandsons. They remember going to a brain day at a nearby university and one time when Grandma fell. This is a very supportive and sweet story.
Christie, Jessica. 2014. Parkinson’s in the Park. Karma Goat Press. Clinton, Mississippi.
A mother and her two children ride their bikes to the park, where they play, have a picnic, and talk to the daughter's friend, who doesn't know anything about Parkinson's.
Evan, Margot Grant. 2006. “My grandpa has Parkinson’s” Vantage Press
Thisgrandpa was a fighter pilot in a war. Now he has Parkinson’s . His grandson looks forward to raising funds toward a cure.
Gosselin, Kim. 2002. “Patrick Learns About Parkinson's Disease: A Story of a Special Bond Between Friends” JayJo Books, Plainview, NY, USA.
Patrick’s mom is divorced. Their next door neighbor is an older man. He and Patrick are close. When the neighbor walks to get the newspaper he has more and more problems with his gait. He and Patrick go to the circus, then Patrick’s mom takes him to the doctor where the neighbor learns has Parkinson’s disease. Patrick and he both learn the symptoms.
Hall, Kirk. “Carina andher Care Partner Gramma. Innovo Publishing LLC. USA.
Told from Carina’s perspective. This story tells of the busy life and varied roles of her Gramma, who is care partner for her Grampa. He undergoes deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery and it brings much hope for their future. This is the second book in the series.
Hall, Kirk. 2011. “Carson and his Shaky PawsGrampa” Innovo Publishing LLC. USA.
This is told from Carson’s perspective. Carson has fun memories of his grampa in his home in the woods.He remembers what his Grampa was like before and details the changes. His Grampa has deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. It promises to make life a little easier. This is the first book in the series.
Hensley, Adele. 2013. “Monica, Mama, and the Ocotillo Leaves” Thewordverve Inc. USA.
Monica is a little girl who goes walking in the desert with her mother.When she is able to beat her mother many times in a race, she realizessomething is wrong with Mama. Eventually her Mama seeks medical help and is diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She takes pills and gets much stronger in her walking. She compares herself to an Ocotillo after the rain after she takes her pills.
Hensley, A. P., & Messmer, B. 2013. How Marty's mom became a cyborg. Thewordverve Inc. USA.
Marty loved science fiction and horror. Marty’s mother was worried about her Parkinson’s. It was getting worse,they both compared her to different characters in stories and they did not like where the comparison’s were taking them. Marty’s Mom decided to have Deep Brain Simulation (DBS) surgery and they both have strong feelings about the process. Marty imagines his mother as a cyborg but afterwards realizes she is the same woman only with wires in her brain.
Hensley, Adele. 2014. “Face it: Making Peace with Fear” Thewordverve Inc. USA.
This is about a woman named Michelle who used to be a girl named Shelly. She remembers her childhood when she loved to scare herself with books and movies. Now she does not like to be scared. She has Parkinson’s disease and thinks that is scary enough. She tells her son Mark that Parkinson’s causes terrible anxiety. She recalls a song Mark taught her that helps her remember the importance of breathing when she is afraid. They discuss how exercise helps. Michelle tells her son: The only way to calm a fear is to FACE IT.
Hultquist, A. 2016. “A day with Parkinson’s” Albert Whitman & Company.
This book is about a boy named Noah who spends the day going to the beach with his mother and his grandfather who has Parkinson’s. He remembers when his grandfather was a strong and able man and compares that to how he is now. He helps his grandfather when his feet freeze. His grandfather explains he just got Parkinson’s disease and that Noah did not cause it, “it is just one of those things that happens”.
Ironside, Virginia. 2013. “My dad has Parkinson’s” produced by Parkinson’sUK
Ironside, Virginia. 2013. “My gran has Parkinson’s” produced by
Parkinson’sUK
Ironside, Virginia. 2013. “My grandad has Parkinson’s” produced by Parkinson’sUK
Ironside, Virginia. 2013. “My mum has Parkinson’s” produced by Parkinson’sUK
These four books were produced in October 2013 are due for reproduction in October 2016. They are each about a different member of the family but the books are much the same. The description of Parkinson’s is very straightforward. They are one of the few books that have characters that look like they could be people of color. They are available online for a free download from Parkinson’sUK.
Jenkins, Kay Mixson. 2008. “Who is Pee Dee?” UCB Inc. Out of Print.
This book is written by a mother about her son, Colt. He misunderstood when the adults were talking about P.D. and thought they were discussing Pee Dee, his stuffed panda bear. Pee Dee come to life and realizes that Colt is in emotional upheaval and tries to calm him by introducing introducing several of Pee Dee’s cousin who each represent a different symptom of Parkinson’s disease. This helps Colt learn about his mother’s Parkinson’s disease.
Jones, Marcie M. 2015. “Grandpa, what is Parkinson’s?” CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
This is a book for little children and it rhymes. It is basically a description of the motor aspects of Parkinson’s disease.
Konopka, A. M., Konopka, J., & Konopka, H. 2006. The tale of a Parkie princess.
This book is about Princess Parkinsonia. Her and her children all have names that start with “Parkins”. When she develops Parkinson’s, she realizes that she can no longer do the gardening and other things that she used to do. She only becomes happy again when she learns self-acceptance. Then she is able to help other people with Parkinson’s learn to live happily ever after.
Le Verrier, Renee and Samuel Frank, MD. 2013.“A Treasure Hunt for Mama and Me” New Horizon Press
When theboy and his mother go hiking they always walk in a single file line. When the boy hears his mother’s feet start to drag he reminds her to take her medicine. While she is resting he goes on an adventure, he climbs a rock and skins his knee and when his mother discovers this she wipes it with a bandana and soothes him. The big treasure from their hunt is a pair of acorns that grew side by side. At the end of the story the mother volunteers to follow the boy back and he invites her to walk side by side with him just like the acorns.
Marts, Sharon Zint. 2015. “My grandpa wants to buy a porcupine” lulu.com
This grandfather used to be a fighter pilot like the grandfather in “My Grandpa has Parkinson’s”, only the most we know about his Parkinson’s disease is that he has it. The author does not describe it any further. Rather the author describes that that the grandfather is in a wheelchair. The grandfather describes the isolation he feels because his impression is that people are scared of wheelchairs. He goes to school with his grandson to encourage children to talk to people in wheelchairs using porcupines as a metaphor for being in a chair. He encourages his grandson and the classmates to get to know the people who live in the chairs.
Mathur, Soania. “Shaky Hands: A Kid’s Guide to Parkinson’s” (no publication information).
This very fact based book is suitable for older children who are independent readers and up. There are sidebars from each of the author’s teenaged daughters. This book is one of the few sources of ethnic diversity in this collection. It mainly describes the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s.
Mathur, S., & Walker, J. T. 2014. My grandpa's shaky hands. (no publication information).
This book is by the same author as “Shaky Hands”. It is a rhyming book that talks about the different ways that this grandpa’s hands are shaky. The grandpa’s hands are also capable of a great many tasks.
Perez, Manuel, Rocío Vidal, Laura “Palmer”.“Con los ojos de un niño/ With the eyes of a child” from
This graphic novel style book is suitable for pre teens on up. It is only available as a free download.
Rykken, Cheryl. 2008.“My shaky grandma” Lulu.com
This sweet book is about a granddaughterwho thinks her grandmother has a “park in the sun” she spends the day with her grandmother, gardening, napping and sitting on a throne (her grandfather calls her grandmother a queen). She learns that someday she’d like to cure Parkinson’s disease and thinks of herself as a superhero. When her mother comes to pick her up she knows her mother does not understand because she has not spent such a meaningful afternoon with her grandmother.
Books we do not discuss as they are International and unavailable:
“Does it Hurt, Granny?” by Dawn May (available in Book Nook), UK
“I’ll Do it, Granny” by Dawn May (available in Book Nook), UK
“Steady On, Granny” by Dawn May, UK
“Cheer Up, Granny” by Dawn May, UK
“Can we Talk About It?” by Dawn May, UK
“Oliver’s Grandma” by Dawn Porter, Canada