School Library Journal Starred Review (Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

K-Gr 3 In January, Janie's mom breaks the news that she has breast cancer. The doctor tells Janie and Jeffrey that she will probably be better by "pumpkin time," so they decide to plant a garden as a symbol of health and hope. "Then before we know it....Hello, pumpkins, goodbye cancer!" The family members nurture the garden and one another, and by harvest time their hopes have been fulfilled. Smoothly told in a reassuringly matter-of-fact and understated way, this is less a story about cancer than about one family's response to it. Details about the treatment and the woman's physical reactions to it are worked in unobtrusively. The family and their supportive circle maintain a humorous and positive attitude, from the neighbors who crown Mom queen when they come over to serve her dinner to the uncle who buzz cuts her hair at the head-shaving party. Realistic emotions like her general sadness or Janie's brother's dismay at his mom's baldness are included, but are downplayed. The sketchy illustrations are tender and sweet. After the first "breaking the news" scene, every page depicts grateful smiles and loving camaraderie. Outdoor scenes provide a feeling of fresh air and the healing of nature. An uplifting, hopeful story, well told and beautifully illustrated.— Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL

ALA Booklist (Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

An unexpectedly upbeat text and delicate illustrations distinguish this story based on the true experiences of a family's journey through breast cancer treatment and recovery. The "goodbye cancer" garden of the title is the brainchild of the narrator, a daughter who suggests that nurturing healthy food and watching it grow will give the family hope that Mom will get better. How fortunate for this family that that is indeed the case. The stages of the mother's treatment from operation to chemotherapy to radiation is mirrored by the progress of the garden. The book ends with a celebration and the promise of a healthy year to come. This is a relentlessly positive book that sometimes seems at odds with the severity of the subject matter. Still, its lack of any tension makes it an almost universally safe choice to recommend. Like Patricia Polacco's The Lemonade Club (2007), it is a rare youth title about cancer that focuses on recovery rather than dealing only with loss.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A family uses creativity and humor to cope with a mother's breast cancer treatment in this heartening and informed story, written by Matthies (Peter, the Knight with Asthma) while she was being treated for the disease. After Janie and Jeffrey learn about their mother's cancer, their parents introduce the siblings to the doctor, who explains, "...we're working very hard to make her better-probably by pumpkin time." This inspires narrator Janie to suggest planting a garden: "Watching it grow, and eating healthy veggies, will remind us Mom's getting better. Then before we know it... Hello, pumpkins, goodbye cancer!" The family plans, plants, and tends to the garden as the children's mother undergoes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The side