Diabetes and Me: An Essential Guide for Kids and Parents

by Nick Bertozzi (Illustrator), Kim Chaloner (Text by)

Overview

An upbeat, empathetic, and essential guide for young people with diabetes

In Diabetes and Me: An Essential Guide for Kids and Parents, Kim Chaloner, who has been teaching award-winning science classes for fifteen years, gives kids the tools they need to take charge of their health and understand what it means to be diagnosed with diabetes. In this graphic guide, she walks four young people through the basics of diabetes, both Type 1 and Type 2, revealing . . .

• The early signs of diabetes and how doctors can help

• What it means to have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes

• What the pancreas is and how it works

• How to manage the ups and downs of blood sugar levels

• Strategies for diet and exercise

• How to explain diabetes to friends and family members

• And much more!

Illustrated by the award-winning artist Nick Bertozzi, Diabetes and Me is an informative, empowering handbook for parents, teachers, and kids looking to learn more about how to handle one of today's most common conditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466859968
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	12/10/2013
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	40 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kim Chaloner is a middle school science teacher and the dean of community life at an independent private school in Manhattan, where she organizes programs in sustainability, biology, multicultural education, and community service. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age sixteen.

Nick Bertozzi is an award-winning illustrator and the author of The Salon and Lewis & Clark. He is the recipient of multiple Harvey Awards and Ignatz Awards, as well as a Xeric Grant. He teaches cartooning at New York City's School of Visual Arts. He has also taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont.

Chaloner and Bertozzi live in Jackson Heights, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Part 1 What is Diabetes? 3

Warm Up! 8

What Is Diabetes? 13

Who Has Diabetes? 17

How Does Diabetes Work? 24

Part 2 Your Team 38

From Dr. Doom to the Dream Team 38

Your Pediatrician or Internist 41

Your Endocrinologist 43

Your Certified Diabetes Nurse Educator (CDE) 46

Your Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) 49

Your Ophthalmologist 52

Caring for Your Feet 54

Your Exercise Physiologist 56

Part 3 How to Get in the Game 60

Equipment #1: Keeping Score 60

Hypoglycemia 64

Hyperglycemia 65

Lows and Highs 66

Equipment #2: What Is Insulin, and What Are Oral Meds? 78

The Pancreas Playbook 82

Part 4 Fuel 90

What Is a Carbohydrate? 92

What Are Fats? 97

Carb Counting 99

Beware! Don't Judge a Team by the Color of Its Uniform! 100

New Ways to Fuel Up 101

Food Makeover #1: The Burrito Comeback Kid 106

Food Makeover #2: Real Pizza, Real Tasty 108

Time-Out: Dealing with Emergencies and Food 115

Lows 117

Severe Lows 118

Part 5 On the Field 120

Why Exercise Is Essential to Living a Healthy Life with Diabetes 120

Starting Out 122

Taking It to the Next Level 125

Running Interference 129

What Will You Try? 133

Part 6 Huddle! Team Support 134

Fans 134

Sick Days 139

Keeping Up Your Routine 140

Making a Pump Armband/Leg Band 146

Wrap-Up 149

Glossary 153

List of Sources 155

Acknowledgments 157

Editorial Reviews

11/11/2013
Chaloner has lived with diabetes for over 25 years, and here she aims to educate young people who also have the disease by breaking down the origins and treatment of diabetes, as well as by showing readers how to live with it successfully. The book, which features art by her husband, Bertozzi, moves somewhat awkwardly between dry medical information, where the illustrations mean little, and the stories of typical young diabetes sufferers, which don’t go anywhere. The art is mostly minimal, lacking backgrounds or context. Chaloner’s work functions as a handbook for dealing with the disease, with information and hints. Bertozzi is best known for his quirky historical graphic novels like The Salon; perhaps his blobby, awkward figures aren’t well suited for explaining medical procedures. Despite all this, for young people who have been diagnosed with diabetes, this is a digestible guide that takes a fresh approach and stands out among a crowded shelf of books about the disease. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

What a surprisingly fun and friendly way for young people to learn about diabetes! This graphic guide brings a hopeful, practical, easy-to-read, real-life perspective to living well with diabetes. Kudos to Kim Chaloner and Nick Bertozzi!” —William H. Polonsky, PhD, CDE, CEO of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute

“What a neat concept: diabetes education meets comic books! Diabetes and Me is informative and inspiring without being boring or condescending. I hope the authors will create one for adults, too!” —Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE, author of Think Like a Pancreas and AADE Diabetes Educator of the Year, 2014

“Diabetes and Me is absolutely ‘Diva'-licious! It's a great way for kids of all ages to learn about diabetes. Kim Chaloner's friendly and upbeat narrative and Nick Bertozzi's beautiful illustrations bring to life what it's really like to be living with this disease.” —Max “Mr. Divabetic” Szadek, founder of Divabetic

From the Publisher

01/01/2014
Gr 4 Up—With nearly 26 million people in the United States currently suffering with some form of diabetes, this guidebook is an extremely relevant and timely publication. Presented in graphic-novel format, it offers a wealth of information, including early signs and symptoms, types of diabetes, and successful strategies and methods for controlling it in specific instances. Various medical specialists involved in the treatment of diabetes, introduced as superheroes, explain their respective roles and segue into how to use equipment to monitor blood-sugar levels and describe the nutritional approaches that have been proven effective in controlling the disease. The components of exercise, nutrition, and team support are relayed through a sports theme that young people will relate to. Bertozzi provides fitting animations for each section of this useful book. All ages and types of diabetics will benefit from it.—Kathryn Diman, Bass Harbor Memorial Library, Bernard, ME

School Library Journal