Donate here. All support is welcome, and for donations of $25 or more you will receive a hard cover copy of The Mad Cappers’ Tea Party.

https://www.pozible.com/project/mad-cappers-tea-party-1

 

The Mad Cappers’ Tea Party is a fun-filled story of two children who help their adult friend come to terms with the unusual and awkward problem of losing her hair. After searching unsuccessfully for Marnie’s hair, the children decide to throw a tea party to find another solution.

The Mad Cappers’ Tea Party is a beautifully illustrated and produced, hardcover book aimed at children from pre-school to middle-primary.

Picture books are a safe and comfortable way to raise difficult topics and open discussion. Mothers, aunties, grandmothers and friends of children experience hair loss but it can be difficult and scary for kids to talk about. The Mad Cappers’ Tea Party introduces this problem to children with compassion, humour and love. In the story, the cause of the hair loss is not mentioned, allowing people in a broad range of situations to relate to it in an individual way.

Reading a picture book creates a shared experience between a child and a carer. A child may find comfort in recognising experiences like their own echoed in a book and to realise they are not alone. It can then give them the opportunity to ask questions they may not have known how to raise. At the same time, this book can be read simply as an entertaining and engaging story.

Where did the idea come from?

When Marnie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, her family and friends threw a real Mad Cappers’ Tea Party as depicted in the story. To help Marnie feel better, everyone arrived ‘bald’ by wearing a swimming cap and brought along the most lovely, practical and wackiest head coverings they could find. It was a lot of fun and helped break down barriers to talking about cancer and the effects of chemotherapy, including hair loss.

Many fellow patients mentioned that hair loss was a hard topic to broach with their kids and loved hearing the story of the Mad Cappers’ Tea Party. So, Marnie wrote the story during her chemotherapy sessions.

Why is this book being crowdfunded and copies need to be pre-ordered?

Female hair loss, whether through cancer treatment or other health problems, is an under-represented niche in the children’s literature market. There is very little profit in children’s picture books and the aim of this publication is not to make a profit but to fill a need for families. Publication will depend on a community of people who want to see this book published. We hope that people who have been touched by cancer will see the value of this book and help get it to market.

How will the funds be used?

Through the Pozible campaign, it is hoped that pre-sale of books will pay for all the production costs.

Design, artwork, illustration and scanning $5,000

Printing, proofs and delivery $8,565
Pozible campaign costs and promotion $2,000

TOTAL COST for 2000 books $15,565

What will we any profits be used for? 

All net profits will be used to provide low cost, easy and accessible mindfulness and meditation guidance for cancer patients and oncology staff.  This will be provided through Lifeflow Meditation Centre Inc. a not-for profit, secular organisation teaching mindfulness and meditation in the South Australian community since 1981. Unsold books will be donated to oncology centres. https://lifeflow.com.au/