Only One of Me: A love letter from Mum
by Lisa Wells and Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri
Interest age: 4 to 5
Published by Graffeg, 2021
About this book
In this tender rhyming picture book, a mum facing terminal illness tells her child how she wishes there were more of her so they could have more time to spend together. She wants more time to go on adventures, to hug and to tell her daughter that she loves her, and to guide her through all her years growing up.
Mum reassures her daughter that her whole family – Daddy, Uncles, Aunties, Grandparents and friends – will become a little bit more like Mum, and show her every single bit of love that she needs to help her heal after Mum is gone. The book ends asking her child to remember all the joy and fun they had when they were still together.
Written by Lisa Wells, who was diagnosed with terminal bowel and liver cancer in 2017, this is a beautiful love letter for her children to remember her by, but is also a gentle and comforting message for any family coping with terminal illness or facing the challenges of bereavement together. Catalina Echeverri’s illustrations perfectly show the unwavering love that a mother has for her child, in good times and bad, and there’s an empty spread at the end for a message and photo to be added for a loved one.
An immensely powerful, compassionate, and important book.
More books like this
-
The Snappy Shark
by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Tim Budgen
3 to 5 years
-
Counting Sheep
by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Nikki Dyson
2 to 7 years
-
When Cookie Crumbled
by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Tom Knight
4 to 7 years
-
The Thunk
by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by Deborah Allwright
4 to 7 years
Lists of recommended reads
-
Stories about grief and loss for 0-5
Reading stories together can be a useful way to talk about sad feelings. This collection of picture books about bereavement contains some of our favourite moving yet uplifting stories.
-
World Cancer Day
4 February is World Cancer Day, which aims to raise awareness, urge governments to take action, and educate us all about the disease and its impact. We've put together a booklist for children of all ages featuring stories that explore the effects of cancer, so if you and your family want to do some wider reading, take a look at our recommendations below.
-
Books featuring letters or diaries
Letters or diaries can be brilliantly purposeful ways to learn and practise reading and writing skills. There is a certain magic and excitement to writing a message and sending it out into the world, knowing that somebody somewhere will read it and respond to you. Letters can be as simple or as complex as your need demands, whether you are writing to wish someone a happy birthday, to invite people to an event, to your future self in the form of a diary or perhaps to persuade or inform with a more formal tone. The following books are for a mixed primary age-range and all feature letters or diaries in a variety of forms. We hope that they will help children to see the value in letter writing and maybe inspire them to write a few of their own!