Suzanne Peters

What Is Wrong with Little Lion? Suzanne Peters

Little Lion is happy with his friends playing in the jungle. Until, one day, he begins to feel very tired and is unable to do the fun things he has always done. At a visit to the doctor he discovers he is ill and must enter the hospital for tests and treatment. It all seems scary until he meets the special people who work in the hospital. Then Little Lion discovers the other children who are there and makes new friends. Soon, with the encouragement of family and his new friends the hospital that in the beginning was scary has become his new home. The impact that cancer, specifically Leukemia, can have on the life of someone so young is comforted by those who care for him each day. Little Lion discovers he is not alone and his forest friends are not gone forever - plus he has more friends now in the hospital.

About the Author

The author raised four biological children and a large number of foster children who struggled with individual problems, both medical and psychological. An assistant administrator in a school for the gifted, she saw special children with unique needs and challenges. One of her daughters became a child life specialist in Oncology and another daughter a teacher at the School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, Florida, enhancing Peters' awareness of the struggles of challenged children.

All these circumstances were the inspiration to write and illustrate stories about difficulties children face, as well as their finding solutions and acceptance within themselves. Children often learn more quickly than adults that a difficult path is often just a different path and there are others that walk the same path with them. Nothing surpasses the joy in seeing the first smile of a child who has struggled with a difficult situation and begun to understand that success is possible.