Campbell addresses the frightening and depressing effects a parent’s mental illness can have on her child and subtly presents coping strategies for the youngster. Annie describes her morning with her cheery, smiling mother as she makes breakfast and helps her off to school. The girl, however, is also aware that mother isn’t always happy and can be nasty, yelling and withdrawing to her bedroom for long periods of time. It’s then that Annie must act grown up, make snacks and meals for herself, pick out her clothes, and get herself to school. The child’s friends, teacher, and grandmother serve as a support system that offers helpful opportunities to contend with her feelings. Thinking happy thoughts, reading a silly book, and calling on a reliable adult relative are realistic approaches clearly explained in this plotless vignette. Expressive watercolors reflect the various bipolar moods of the mother and Annie’s resigned look of troubled concern, counterbalanced by her upbeat playful disposition. Carefully designed to lend subtle support to families and counselors as well as to the child with a limited understanding of the situation. (Picture book. 7-10)
