Mama Blue is a simple picture book intended to introduce children ages 5-8 to depression.
Baby Moo sees her mother sleeps most of the day, is always tired, and doesn’t play outside with her. She tries to cheer up her mother, but she cannot. One day she sees her mother is bleeding and asks what happened. Mama Blue tells her daughter that she cut herself to lessen the pain. Baby Moo is scared. Her mother could easily have bled to death. All of Baby Moo’s questions help Mama Moo see that she needs help from doctors and mental health professionals to treat her depression.
While fictional, this story is based on the author’s experiences of watching her mother struggle with depression. It is never too soon to learn the warning signs of this debilitating and life threatening disease. Depression and other mental illnesses are just as real as physical illnesses. Until we start changing the way we view mental illness as a society, people will not get the help they need.
