This book is a great idea and very well-intentioned. There are so few resources to help kids understand mental illness, especially bipolar disorder, that, if a child's life was impacted by the condition I would absolutely try this as a way to start a conversation with them and work at de-stigmatizing the illness.

That said, there are issues with the text, including grammatical errors and an inconsistent structure. I believe it's intended to be read in rhyming couplets, but sometimes the formatting of the text doesn't follow that, and syntax and word choice are often sacrificed to make rhymes. There are elements of the story that aren't explained clearly in the text (what the purple hat represents, the family's living situation, etc.) so an adult reading partner may need to help kids with questions. With support, however, this could be a comforting and useful read for kids living with mental illness in their family.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you NetGalley and the independent publisher for accepting my request to read and review My Bi-Polar MamaBear.

Author: T.A. Mystic
Published: 12/07/22
Genre: Children's Fiction

Sadly, this is a miss for me. I didn't see or feel Bi-Polar. I did think the hats were mood related.

The illustrations are vibrant; however, they weren't able to tell the Bi-Polar story.

I absolutely see a need for Children's books related to mental health. I didn't connect with this one.

A very sympathetic book helping young ones, and older ones, to understand what bi-polar means, by showing the bear mother is different colored hats and clothing to reflect bi-polar moods. The book explains that bi-polar behavior is not a choice and is a grown up problem. The book is kind and gentle and useful to help us cope with a reality which is difficult. A useful book.

this book shows the perspective of a young cub and her mother who has bipolar. this is such a heart aching book - i am definitely not in the target audience for this as i am nearly 20 years old. but, for children, this will help them gain an understanding of bipolar disorder and why some of their parents may have different emotions on different days.

the hats are a great metaphor to symbolise the emotions of the mother and the mood swings of the disorder. i, personally, do not have bipolar or know anybody with it, so i am unaware of how accurate this representation is or how one with bipolar may view this book. i think that a child will be able to understand the symbol of the hat and what it represents even though they may not understand what bipolar is. i think it is great that they author wishes to spread awareness and help children understand this disorder.

my only concern is that i do not know how accurate this is, but knowing that the daughter of the author suffers from bipolar, i have reason to believe that this is somewhat accurate.

My heart goes out to the author for being so creative and wanting to give her granddaughter and other children a way to understand the mood swings of their parent diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I think hats is a great externalization for emotion. I think the book is really dependent on the readers understanding of a metaphor. I also think not everyone is in an angry phase during this disorder and / or it lasting multiple days. I could also see someone with this disorder finding it very stigmatizing. .