Library Journal Review

As the mother of a cleft-palate child, the author has dealt firsthand with the emotional and medical issues facing all parents with cleft-affected children. She opens her book with descriptions of different types of clefts and their possible causes and assures parents that the defects can be corrected with surgery. She then talks about the next important issue: how to feed cleft-affected children. She also explains at length the emotional impact of cleft-affected children on families and strategies to help these children cope with other people's reactions. Other issues such as hearing, speech, dental and orthodontic work, financial concerns, and support groups are also discussed. Throughout, there are encouraging profiles of successful people affected by cleft palate and a whole chapter about the author's own child, from birth to surgeries, and growing up happily with a supportive family. Not many books of this type are available; Karlind Moller & others' A Parent's Guide to Cleft Lip and Palate (Univ. of Minnesota, 1990. o.p.) is now over ten years old, and other guides focus on speech or take a clinical approach to the topic. Packed with important information, this is highly recommended for all public libraries and consumer health collections. Lily W. Liu, Arkansas Children's Hosp., Little Rock (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.