The Bald-Headed Princess: Cancer, Chemo and Courage. Maribeth Ditmars, $10.95 (novel, ages 8-13)

Isabel learns that having cancer is awful, but it can’t change who she is. With the support of friends and family, along with courage and a fabulous sense of humor, she gets through the scariness and the baldness of cancer and chemo.

Because … Someone I Love Has Cancer: a Kids’ Activity Book. American Cancer Society, $13.95 (ages 6-12)

This activity book is designed to help kids create and find bright moments in the midst of tough circumstances.

Cancer in the Family: Helping Children Cope with a Parent’s Illness. Sue Heiney, Joan Hermann, Katherine Bruss & Joy Fincannon, $23.95

A diagnosis of cancer changes a family forever. Ordinary responsibilities become more demanding, and you sometimes need assistance balancing the specific needs of your children. Cancer in the Family outlines steps necessary to help your children understand what happens when a parent has been diagnosed with cancer. You can learn how to:

• Strengthen ties and express concern for each other, even when a parent is sick.
• Talk to your children each step of the way and answer difficult questions about the condition
• Help children cope when a parent feels ill
• Manage role changes and disruptions in routines
• Recognize signs that your child needs help

A Child in Pain: What Health Professionals Can Do to Help. Leora Kuttner, $52.95

This comprehensive book is designed to help child health professionals of all disciplines gain understanding and skill in how to approach and treat children’s pain, and help children understand and cope with their own pain. The book examines children’s fears and anxieties that accompany their need for pain relief, and gives health professionals communications skills and words to calm these fears.

Childhood Leukemia: a Guide for Families, Friends & Caregivers, 4th Edition. Nancy Keene, $34.50

Understanding the diagnosis, getting the best treatment, coping with side effects, finding support and much more is included in this newly revised edition of Childhood Leukemia. The book contains the information and support parents need during this difficult time, including advice to ease their daily life and the tools to be a strong advocate for their child.

The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness and the Men Who Could Be Me. Bruce Feiler, $24.99

Bruce Feiler was a young father when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. He instantly worried what his death might mean for his daughters. Three days later he came up with a stirring idea of how he might give them that voice. He would reach out to six men, from all the passages in his life, and asked them to be present through the passages in his daughters’ lives.

The Council of Dads is the inspiring story of what happened next. Mixing the harrowing tale of his treatment with the uplifting lessons of these men — “Approach the Cow,” “Pack Your Flip-Flops,” “Live the Questions,” “Harvest Miracles” — Feiler’s account is touching, funny, and ultimately a deeply moving account of parenthood, loss, and love.

Cures for Heartbreak. Margo Rabb, $21.00 (novel, ages 13 and up)

"If she dies, I'll die," are the words 15-year-old Mia Perlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Nine days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and her father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss. But even in grief, there is the chance for new beginnings in this poignant, funny, and hopeful novel.

Extreme Parenting is a solid source of support for parents of children with long-term illnesses. The guide is packed with practical advice, models of exploration and lists of action points, and will empower parents to be good advocates for their children. It also provides health professionals with invaluable insights into the demands of living with chronic illness.

The moment when Patty Dann's husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, she felt as though the ground had dropped beneath her. Her grief, however, was immediately interrupted by the realization that she would have to tell their three-year-old son Jake that his father was dying. The prognosis gave her husband just a year to live. In that short time, the three of them — Patty, Willem, and Jake — would have to find a way to live with the illness and prepare for his death.

As much about exploring memory as it is about appreciating the moment, this captivating narrative will serve as a genuine comfort for anyone surprised by grief.

Good Luck Mrs. K! Louise Borden, illustrated by Adam Gustavson, $9.99 (ages 6-10)

Mrs. K’s grade three class works hard to make her proud while she is away on sick leave with cancer.

Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer: a Guide for Parents and Families, 2nd Edition. Peter Van Drenoot, $19.95

Helping Your Children Cope with Your Cancer provides comfort and advice for families confronted wiht a diagnosis of cancer.

Imagine a Rainbow: a Child's Guide for Soothing Pain. Brenda S. Miles, Illustrated by Nicole Wong, $11.50

When a child is in pain, imagining scenes that are soothing or uplifting may help reduce the discomfort. Imagine a Rainbow is a beautiful tool for introducing children to the idea of using their imaginations to cope with pain, whether by itself or as part of a more comprehensive pain management plan.

The book also includes an extensive Note to Parents that explains the techniques of imagery and deep breathing, and how to help children use them.

Let My Colors Out. Courtney Filigenzi, illustrated by Shennen Bersani, $12.95 (ages 4-8)

A young boy uses color to express a range of emotions as his mother undergoes cancer treatment.

Living Well with My Serious Illness. Marge Eaton Heegaard, $9.95

With the creative and interactive drawing activities in this book, kids can learn to better understand their illness and develop healthy coping skills. An Art Therapist, author Marge Eaton Heegaard offers an honest, gentle way to help children regain a sense of power and to express difficult feelings more effectively.

The Mindfulness Solution to Pain. Jackie Gardner-Nix & Lucie Costin-Hall, Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn, $26.95

In The Mindfulness Solution to Pain, the authors modify Jon Kabat-Zinn's original mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) program to create a new program they call mindfulness based chronic pain management (MBCPM). This book provides a clear, breakdown of the MBCPM program, in which readers are introduced to the concepts of mindfulness and meditation.

From the outset, the authors explain why the mind is so important in managing pain. Initial chapters introduce the readers to how the mind processes pain, the role of life experiences, genetics, the physiology of their fight and flight responses, and the role of chronic responses in impairing healing, sleep, and other important bodily functions. The rationale for working with the mind in addition to, or instead of, the other standard interventions, is emphasized. In all, regular practice of these techniques offers a good chance of quality-of-life improvement for chronic pain sufferers.

A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children: Rebuilding Your Family after the Death of a Loved One. Phyllis Silverman & Madelyn Kelly, $21.95

A comprehensive, thoughtful and commonsense book, A Parent’s Guide to Raising Grieving Children offers a wealth of solace, sound advice and hope.

Partners in Healing: Simple Ways to Offer Support, Comfort and Care to a Loved One Facing Illness. William Collinge, $16.75

This book offers a new sense of empowerment for the intimate partners of people living with serious health problems. Collinge draws on cutting-edge scientific research along with his experience counseling couples facing serious illness to offer a range of insights, strategies, and techniques that caregivers can utilize to promote their partners’ physical and emotional well-being—while also promoting their own.

Fifteen-year-old Izzy tells the story of her sudden descent into the world of cancer. Everything changes overnight — her friendships, her relationship with her mother, the way the teachers at school treat her — everything that matters most is in turmoil.

Parents with cancer often need help talking with children about the illness. This activity book offers age-appropriate ways to help with their children’s needs.

When I’m Gone: Practical Notes for Those You Leave Behind. Kathleen Fraser, $19.95

A fill-in book and resource manual to help family members better handle the details of life when someone dies or has to be away from home for extended periods of time. Includes space to give contact information, location of key documents, wills and living wills, medical records, child and pet care instructions, finances and property, home and vehicle maintenance, computer passwords and special notations.