Category: Cancer and Wellness

A reading of Chubby’s Tale, The true story of a teddy bear who beat cancer

#Cancer #Kids #Teachers #ReadAloud #AmReading #ChildhoodCancer #Pediatrics #Oncology #Hematology Yay! The fabulous Joey and Tony Madia did a wonderful, super cute reading of Chubby’s Tale: The true story of a teddy bear who beat cancer in their channel Saturday Morning Story Time Live. Check this out! A huge thank you to Joey and Tonya!

A full reading of Chubby by Carola’s fav actors!

Yay! The fabulous Joey and Tony Madia did a wonderful, super cute reading of Chubby’s Tale: The true story of a teddy bear who beat cancer in their channel Saturday Morning Story Time Live. Check this out! You can see the Youtube of their reading and learn all about Chubby by clicking this link.

We also reviewed Chubby’s Tale right here too. We follow Chubby’s brave journey. The chemotherapy makes some of his hair fall out. Oh dear, who will take home from the shop a teddy with bald patches?  How does it all work out?  Well, that’s all in this book which I (and Mawson and his friends) recommend highly.

Where to find Chubby’s Book:  Amazon (And it’s FREE. to read on Kindle Unlimited.) You can also follow Chubby on Facebook. You can also make your own Chubby! See this link. To see just one of the lovely reviews, see this link.

The author, Carola Schmidt, is a Pediatric Oncology Pharmacist and also author of several scientific books on paediatric oncology.

You are at Baffled Bear Books, brought to you by Mark, who is Guardian and blundering typist for Mawson Bear, one of this bright world’s few published bears. Mawson is the writer bear of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In and of She Ran Away From Love and of Dreamy Days and Random Naps.

Meet Scotty, star of When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer, by Carola Schmidt

Scotty: You can see me being brave in a new book called  When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift, by Carola Schmidt. In the book, I’m a little bear who gets a bad sickness called cancer. I am scared because cancer is scary, but I’m trying very hard to be brave. The book is to help kids feel much more brave, like me, when they are getting treatment.

It is illustrated by Mark O’Dwyer who is my Guardian . All the bears in our house helped. You can see Big Gus in the laboratory, and Stitches and Paddy who are patients too in the ward, and Little Teddy who is my very own teddy bear who I got for my birthday. The next picture is me with Little Teddy and Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree.

Me Scotland The Brave sitting with Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree. I am holding my own Little Teddy.
Dr Caddy, Me, and Nurse Bree

Here is the story of how I got my name.

I was the first bear to arrive in Mawson’s house after Mawson. My job was to sit in the microwave oven and get warmed up. Then I would cuddle people when they were not well and make them feel warm and better. Mawson was amazed that I went calmly into the oven. “You are so brave’”, he said. ‘And I wear trews’, I said proudly. 

Mawson told me about Scotland. He said everyone in Scotland is brave and it’s also where trews come from. So my name became Scotland The Brave. Mawson assured me that people in Scotland don’t sit in microwave ovens, so I stopped doing it. Nowadays, I am brave in all kinds of other ways. I also deliver the post.

Me, Scotland The Brave with my postie hat and my truck
Scotland The Brave, Postal Bear

Here’s me with my postie hat and post box and my trusty truck. You can see me again sitting in this chair when you look in the new book!

Scotty’s Guardian: Thank you Scotty. And now a word about When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer. Carola Schmidt is an award-winning author of children’s cancer books, and uses her experience as a pediatric oncology pharmacist to write scientific books for Springer Nature. You can usually find her on X @_CarolaSchmidt. And you can find Scotty and his friends and Me, Mark, right here on this WordPress Den and at Baffled Bear Books.

More Links: Amazon UK and Amazon Australia and Brazil and  Canada and India and Japan and Mexico and Sweden and Amazon all over the place.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of Dreamy Days and Random Naps and of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

For Such A Time As This: My Journey through Cancer. How love and my cats sustained, fortified me, and helped take the pain away, by Pauline Dewberry

“I sat in stupefied silence .. How could I possibly have leukaemia? How did I get it? Why did I get it? Was I going to die? If so, when?”

At the age of 56 Pauline Dewberry felt content with her life. She had sons and grandchildren, the company of six cats, projects and plans. Then she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).

Pussy cat. Cats filled Paulines life with love

“Hold it there”, you may think. “You’re suggesting I read a medical-term laden memoir of a cancer survivor?” Not at all. I’m recommending a story of faith, prayers, cats, purring, medical marvels, unexpected friendships, and even a love story.


The author wrote this often raw account of her seemingly interminable – and near to actually being terminal – battle with cancer to share how ‘despite the odds being stacked up against you, it IS possible to look your enemy in the eye and win’.

Pussy cat with big grin

Pauline describes her illness and treatment with such clear language that it is easy to comprehend. As well as being informative about AML, this candid account will be a valuable eye-opener, I think, for the supporting friends and family of anyone who is locked in a prolonged battle with ill health, not only with cancer.

Pussy cat 3

As well as her faith, and the great good fortune of the stem cell match with her brother, Pauline valued her ‘Purr-atherapy’. She describes how her cats would curl against her at home and purr her through many dark hours. As time passed, each of her purr-ers died, sadly. But two new cats, Casey and Gibbs, introduced themselves into her life, and with their company the author is now in remission after surviving aggressive chemotherapy, the stem cell transplant, CMV, MRSA and Graft Vs host Disease (GVHD).

Pussycat 4

The Daily Mews is Pauline Dewberry’s popular website for cat lovers. With cat humour and jokes, caption contests, guest articles about cat care and cat antics, it is your ‘purrfect way to start the day.’ (Mawson’s guardian has been a reader of the dailymews.com for years.)

Pussy cat 5

The author: Pauline Dewbery trained to be an editor and had many articles published in teen girl’s magazines. Pauline is a pet bereavement counsellor. Her Daily Mews website provides, among other things, a space to respectfully reflect on feelings of grief for our passed pets, for instance, in the tributes called “Napping on A Sunbeam”. Another popular feature of The Daily Mews was “Ollie’s Diary”. When Ollie died Pauline decided, after some thought, to continue with the diary but with Ollie now reporting from beyond the Rainbow Bridge. She is currently preparing these diaries for publication. You can contact Pauline at pauline @thedailymews.com or p.dewberry @ntlworld.com

Where to find it For Such A Time As This, by Pauline Dewberry, cover by Aida Marina: Amazon UK and Amazon USA (under $3 on Kindle) and Amazon Australia (free right now with Kindle unlimited). Check your own Amazon Stores in Kindle.

Pussycat 6

When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift, by Carola Schmidt:

Mawson’s Guardian Says: When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift, is by Carola Schmidt, an award-winning author of children’s cancer books.

The book is to help kids feel much more brave when they are getting treatment.

It’s illustrated by Me, Mark:  You can see pictures of  Big Gus in the laboratory, and Stitches and Paddy who are patients too in the ward, and  Nurse Bree and Doctor Caddy, and technician Gus and more.

Three of the bears in the book read their copies. You can see Dr Caddy wearing her specs, patient Stiches in his dressing gown, and Nurse Bree.
‘You are not alone! Hold a paw, hug one another, makes friends with others on the journey.’ (Joey Madia)

About Scottie, the unwell bear.
Scottie, clutching his own Little Teddy, visits the surgery of Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree. He learns he has leukaemia. The Doctor and nurse explain all about it. Scotty meets fellow patient bears and they keep each other brave and strong as they go through their different treatments.

And now a word from Me, Mawson’s Guardian (Mark O’Dwyer).
I and all the bears in our house helped to make the pictures in this book In the pictures on this post you can see Brave Scotty, Little Teddy, Big Gus in the laboratory, and Stitches, a patient in the ward with Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree.

You can see a little video about it on Spotify, Youtube, and TikTok. Here is the link to the one is on Youtube: https://youtu.be/b57VMmV_NVM .

About the Book:
And now a word about When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer. The author Carola Schmidt is an award-winning author of children’s cancer books, and uses her experience as a pediatric oncology pharmacist to write scientific books for Springer Nature. You can usually find her on Twitter @_CarolaSchmidt. And you can find Scotty and his friends and Me, Mark, all over the bright web world including right here on this WordPress Den and at Baffled Bear Books.

Where to buy When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift:
Amazon everywhere, including Amazon UK and Amazon Australia and Brazil and Canada and India and Japan and Mexico and Sweden. Also Waterstones, Book Depository (with free shipping), Bookshop Org (supporting local bookshops) and Barnes and Noble.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of Dreamy Days and Random Naps and of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

For Such A Time As This: My Journey through Cancer. How love and my cats sustained, fortified me, and helped take the pain away, by Pauline Dewberry

“I sat in stupefied silence .. How could I possibly have leukaemia? How did I get it? Why did I get it? Was I going to die? If so, when?”

At the age of 56 Pauline Dewberry felt content with her life. She had sons and grandchildren, the company of six cats, projects and plans. Then she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).

Pussy cat. Cats filled Paulines life with love

“Hold it there”, you may think. “You’re suggesting I read a medical-term laden memoir of a cancer survivor?” Not at all. I’m recommending a story of faith, prayers, cats, purring, medical marvels, unexpected friendships, and even a love story.


The author wrote this often raw account of her seemingly interminable – and near to actually being terminal – battle with cancer to share how ‘despite the odds being stacked up against you, it IS possible to look your enemy in the eye and win’.

Pussy cat with big grin

Pauline describes her illness and treatment with such clear language that it is easy to comprehend. As well as being informative about AML, this candid account will be a valuable eye-opener, I think, for the supporting friends and family of anyone who is locked in a prolonged battle with ill health, not only with cancer.

Pussy cat 3

As well as her faith, and the great good fortune of the stem cell match with her brother, Pauline valued her ‘Purr-atherapy’. She describes how her cats would curl against her at home and purr her through many dark hours. As time passed, each of her purr-ers died, sadly. But two new cats, Casey and Gibbs, introduced themselves into her life, and with their company the author is now in remission after surviving aggressive chemotherapy, the stem cell transplant, CMV, MRSA and Graft Vs host Disease (GVHD).

Pussycat 4

The Daily Mews is Pauline Dewberry’s popular website for cat lovers. With cat humour and jokes, caption contests, guest articles about cat care and cat antics, it is your ‘purrfect way to start the day.’ (Mawson’s guardian has been a reader of the dailymews.com for years.)

Pussy cat 5

The author: Pauline Dewbery trained to be an editor and had many articles published in teen girl’s magazines. Pauline is a pet bereavement counsellor. Her Daily Mews website provides, among other things, a space to respectfully reflect on feelings of grief for our passed pets, for instance, in the tributes called “Napping on A Sunbeam”. Another popular feature of The Daily Mews was “Ollie’s Diary”. When Ollie died Pauline decided, after some thought, to continue with the diary but with Ollie now reporting from beyond the Rainbow Bridge. She is currently preparing these diaries for publication. You can contact Pauline at pauline @thedailymews.com or p.dewberry @ntlworld.com

Where to find it For Such A Time As This, by Pauline Dewberry, cover by Aida Marina: Amazon UK and Amazon USA (under $3 on Kindle) and Amazon Australia (free right now with Kindle unlimited). Check your own Amazon Stores in Kindle.

Pussycat 6

When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer by Carola Schmidt: Review by Joey Madia (playwright and teacher)

Here are excerpts from the thoughtful review by Joey Madia. (Please follow the links to read the whole of Joey’s article.)

“When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer is filled with photographs by Mark O’Dwyer, the author of the Mawson the Bear children’s series. Mawson—sort of a Winnie the Pooh, especially when considered through the lens of books like The Tao of Pooh—is a dreamer and seeker who is a big fan of naps and working with his equally inquisitive friends to explore just what it is that drives and fulfills us.”

“Written in simple, effective language, the book (Brave Bear) starts at initial diagnosis and goes through the various treatments one many encounter. The text and photographs work together to demystify complex ideas, soften the edge of what can be a scary idea through use of adorable bears, and to provide visuals of the doctor’s office and other venues.”

Three of the bears in the book read their copies. You can see Dr Caddy wearing her specs, patient Stiches in his dressing gown, and Nurse Bree.
‘You are not alone! Hold a paw, hug one another, makes friends with others on the journey.’ (Joey Madia)

About Joey Madia:
Please take a look at Newmystics.com to see more reviews by Joey Madia. He is a playwright, author, actor, and teacher. He is also artistic Director/Resident Playwright of Seven Stories Theatre Company. See more at www.newmystics.com. Joey also kindly reviewed Mawson Bear’s little book called Dreamy Days and Random Naps. See the link here.

Storytime Live on Facebook:
Joey’s and Tonya Madia do Live Facebook readings. Here they are reading When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer. They do the different voices and show the pictures in the book. Take a look too at Joey and Tonya reading on Crayola Education for the Read Along- Draw Along which featured another book by Carola Schmidt, Bald is Beautiful, an inspiring and uplifting story about loving your bald, beautiful head. (In When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer, our little hero Scotty also has the fur fall out after treatment! But with help from Little Teddy he realises he is still a wonderful bear.)

And now a word from Me, Mawson’s Guardian (Mark O’Dwyer).
I and all the bears in our house helped to make the pictures in this book In the pictures on this post you can see Brave Scotty, Little Teddy, Big Gus in the laboratory, and Stitches, a patient in the ward with Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree.

About the Book:
And now a word about When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer. The author Carola Schmidt is an award-winning author of children’s cancer books, and uses her experience as a pediatric oncology pharmacist to write scientific books for Springer Nature. You can usually find her on Twitter @_CarolaSchmidt. And you can find Scotty and his friends and Me, Mark, all over the bright web world including right here on this WordPress Den and at Baffled Bear Books.

Where to buy When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer: A Get Well Soon Gift:
Amazon everywhere, including Amazon UK and Amazon Australia and Brazil and Canada and India and Japan and Mexico and Sweden. Also Waterstones, Book Depository (with free shipping), Bookshop Org (supporting local bookshops) and Barnes and Noble.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of Dreamy Days and Random Naps and of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

‘This little story made me well up. A lovely, poignant story with delightful illustrations.’ Jackie Law, Amazon Top 500 reviewer, about It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost in.

The book brings back such nostalgic memories that it made it comforting, like a  old security blanket.’  FNM Book reviews about Bright World.

When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer by Carola Schmidt: Review by Leanne


“When a Brave Bear Fight Cancer a heartwarming book by Carola Schmidt and Mark O’Dwyer. This book breaks down the complexities of cancer. The text and images are simple yet informative making them accessible to readers of all ages!’

‘The explanation of tricky terminology is handled brilliantly and supported with brilliant visuals and images to support understanding. This is a great book to use with children who have been diagnosed with cancer or young children close to a family member diagnosed with cancer.’

“The book is also positive and supportive and lets readers know they are special, unique and not alone. A fantastic resource everyone should invest in.”

What a lovely review. Thank you so much to Leanne. You can find her at @Lsignedstories on Twitter.

And now a word from Me, Mawson’s Guardian. I and all the bears in our house helped to make the pictures in this book You can see Brave Scotty, Little Teddy, Big Gus in the laboratory, and Stitches and Paddy who are patients too in the ward. Here is a picture of Scotty with Little Teddy.

About the Book:. And now a word about When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer. Carola Schmidt is an award-winning author of children’s cancer books, and uses her experience as a pediatric oncology pharmacist to write scientific books for Springer Nature. You can usually find her on Twitter @_CarolaSchmidt. And you can find Scotty and his friends and Me, Mark, right here on this WordPress Den and at Baffled Bear Books.

More Links: Amazon UK and Amazon Australia and Brazil and  Canada and India and Japan and Mexico and Sweden and Amazon all over the place.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of Dreamy Days and Random Naps and of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

‘This little story made me well up. A lovely, poignant story with delightful illustrations.’ Jackie Law, Amazon Top 500 reviewer, about It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost in.

The book brings back such nostalgic memories that it made it comforting, like a  old security blanket.’  FNM Book reviews about Bright World.

When a Brave Bear Fights Cancer by Carola Schmidt: Review by Mrs Wylie


“I loved this book for many reasons. It tackles a subject that is very difficult to explain to children in an extremely sensitive way, with beautiful pictures. It’s bright and colourful photographs are the perfect illustrations. I’m a big fan of Mawson Bear books. The use of photos is so unique!’

‘As a cancer patient myself, I’ve thought a lot about what it must be like for children . It’s such a scary thing, but this book will definitely help calm some of those fears with it’s clear explanations. I would love to see copies of this book in every hospital that treats children with cancer.’

What a lovely review. Thank you so much to Book Addict. You can find her at @bookaddict.twlie68 on Bearagram (Instagram) and on Twitter.

And now a word from Me, Mawson’s Guardian. I and all the bears in our house helped to make the pictures in this book You can see Brave Scotty, Little Teddy, Big Gus in the laboratory, and Stitches and Paddy who are patients too in the ward. Here is a picture of Scotty with Little Teddy and Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree.

Me Scotland The Brave sitting with Dr Caddy and Nurse Bree. I am holding my own Little Teddy.

About the Book:. And now a word about When A Brave Bear Fights Cancer. Carola Schmidt is an award-winning author of children’s cancer books, and uses her experience as a pediatric oncology pharmacist to write scientific books for Springer Nature. You can usually find her on Twitter @_CarolaSchmidt. And you can find Scotty and his friends and Me, Mark, right here on this WordPress Den and at Baffled Bear Books.

More Links: Amazon UK and Amazon Australia and Brazil and  Canada and India and Japan and Mexico and Sweden and Amazon all over the place. Also: Barnes and Noble and more soon.

You have wandered into Mawson Bear’s web-den. Mawson is a Ponderer of Baffling Things (between naps) and the Writer-Bear of Dreamy Days and Random Naps and of It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost In  and She Ran Away From Love.

‘This little story made me well up. A lovely, poignant story with delightful illustrations.’ Jackie Law, Amazon Top 500 reviewer, about It’s A Bright World To Feel Lost in.

The book brings back such nostalgic memories that it made it comforting, like a  old security blanket.’  FNM Book reviews about Bright World.