book review youth

“Diabetes? Wow” by Briar Hoper

A great youth resource, tackling all the big questions in a clear, simple way—Hoper’s picture-packed, encouraging book cuts right to the point…

When I was newly diagnosed, diabetes felt like an elephant-shaped fog—hard to grasp, hard to get my mind around.

Where do we begin in our quest to understand this beast—kids especially? Still struggling to understand diabetes ourselves, how can we give simple low-key answers to curious friends and frightened family, and graciously correct the judgmental and misinformed?

Briar Hoper’s helpful, warm, picture-packed, encouraging book cuts right to the point, answering the big questions that kids, and really all of us, start out with: What is it? Is it contagious? Will it go away? Can I still do sports?… and more.

Dozens of photos let youth see diabetics who look like them playing sports, eating birthday cake, having fun, and living happy lives.

Hoper wrote the book for the age 8-18 crowd. When her own son was diagnosed T1, Hoper realized that while there are many read-aloud picture-books on the topic, and hefty books for adults, there’s a surprising lack of books for the ages in between.

Cheerful, concise, and direct, Hoper brings the big questions down from overwhelming to bite-sized. Filled with clear, welcoming snippets, it’s a guide I wish I’d had in early years to hand to friends and family—a short, fun read tackling all the big questions—so we diabetics don’t have to answer them over and over and over!

While aimed at youth, this is a great book for anyone who is just getting started.

How do we tackle diabetes-overwhelm? One byte at a time. How can we break that formidable stampeding elephant down to a few cuddly kittens? With Hoper’s succinct, positive, picture-filled book that converts the meandering confusion of diabetes into clear, simple, relatable visuals and facts.