Childhood is never easy, even in the best of circumstances. It can seem like life is easy for so many kids, but they may be struggling with things you don’t know about. And they may not have a solution until they tell someone else about it.
In Two Wins for Wiley, authors Karen Patricia Nespoli and Caitlin Bree Kennedy teach young readers about acupuncture and how, while it seems scary, ultimately helps treat their main character’s ailment. Below is my review of Two Wins for Wiley followed by an interview with both authors.
Two Wins for Wiley plot synopsis
Wiley is a great baseball player, but he suffers from bad stomach aches that come out of nowhere. When is coach finds out, he recommends that he sees Dr. Cait, an acupuncturist who treats illnesses like stomach aches with tiny needles. Wiley is afraid of needles and is not excited about visiting Dr. Cait. But she helps to explain that the needles are very thin and don’t hurt which convinces Wiley to try it. The treatment works, and he invites Dr. Cait to watch him play in the championship game.
The story
Two Wins for Wiley is a fun yet educational story that introduces to young readers about acupuncture. It’s informative and helps to explain a type of medicine that isn’t usually discussed in a way that’s easy to understand.
Wiley is understandably nervous about the treatment, particularly the use of needles. But he’s not pressured to do anything he doesn’t want to do. And Dr. Cait is incredibly sensitive of his fears.
I love Wiley’s personality. He’s not afraid to share his vulnerabilities, and in doing so, he’s able to get the answers he needs. He also interacts to situations in a realistic way, whether it’s teasing his sister at the breakfast table, pumping the brakes on Dr. Cait when the topic of needles is discussed, or celebrating when he plays well after his treatments.
The illustrations
The illustrations by Carissa Harris are bright and colorful. Each character has the same basic design with individual traits that distinguish them from the others, especially Wiley and his teammates. Each page is filled with illustrations with enough white space to fit the text. I particularly like the baseball-shaped page numbers in the corner of each page.
My recommendation
I recommend Two Wins for Wiley for baseball fans, those who struggle with illness, and those who fear going to the doctor. The idea of alternative treatments that don’t involve painful shots or hard to swallow medicines is something to consider. This book doesn’t try to push any sort of agenda. Instead, it opens up new possibilities for treatments. It even includes additional facts at the end for parents to review and consider.
There is quite a bit of text on each page which makes it, along with the topic, more suitable for grade school kids. However, it does a good job of explaining the topic in a way that young readers can understand.
My only criticism is that certain sections could have used a better transition, such as the transition from Wiley being told about acupuncture to his visit with Dr. Cait. His father’s absence is also introduced in a way that is a bit vague and is awkwardly inserted into a few pages. Otherwise, the book does stay on track in solving Wiley’s conflicts and educating children about acupuncture set against a fun sports backdrop.
My rating
Also check out my review of Karen Patricia Nespoli’s other book, Gertie Saves the Day, here!
An interview with Karen Patricia Nespoli and Caitlin Bree Kennedy
How did you come up with the idea of Wiley as a baseball player?
Caitlin and I did some research before selecting baseball. Several major league baseball teams have an acupuncturist on staff. Acupuncture strives to balance the body energetically. Baseball is a game of balance, when batting, pitching and fielding. It seemed like the perfect choice.
Wiley’s father is away at army boot camp. How did you come up with this element of the story?
There are many children who have one or both parents who serve in the miliary. Military parents cannot always be there for every event in their child’s life. We respect and appreciate those who serve their country and we wanted to honor those families in this story.
What was the writing process like between both authors?
We have been writing Two Wins for Wiley for several years. It has been through many revisions and at one time a complete rewrite. We write well together as co-authors. Our process was to write the story, read it aloud and revise.
Our professional editor left us comments about areas that needed to be explained more and where we could cut back on wording when we told too much. Her comments guided our revisions. Caitlin’s expertise as an acupuncturist was essential for us to tell this story to our readers. As co-authors we respect each other’s point of view and that respect made working together easy.
Do you have a favorite moment or page?
Karen: My favorite moment from the story is where Wiley heads for the door before he sees how tiny the needles really are. I think those of us who are afraid of needles can identify with Wiley at that moment.
Caitlin: My favorite moment is when Wiley is looking at the needle and noticing how small it really is. Sometimes we make things bigger in our minds than they actually are.
How closely did you work with illustrator Carissa Harris to come up with the design of the characters and the scenes for each page? Did you have any specific requests or guidelines for her to follow?
We selected Carissa from her portfolio and recommendations. One thing that really helped was the fact that Carissa was familiar with acupuncture. Her knowledge and experience helped with the illustrations.
As an author, I like to complete a character study for each character. The character studies gave Carissa some insight into each of the characters. Carissa sketched Wiley and Dr. Cait first, followed by the other characters. Once all of the characters were settled, we spoke with Carissa about each page illustration. We were delighted with the outcome. Carissa was able to bring our story to life!
What advice do you have for kids who are afraid of needles, both those that hurt and those that don’t?
My advice for kids who are afraid of needles would be to just be brave and give it a shot (no pun intended)! Even if it is painful, it only lasts and second and then it’s over. You can be proud of yourself for being brave and getting through it after! Both types of needles (shots and acupuncture) are there to help us stay healthy.
Can you elaborate more on how acupuncture helps to clear up stomach aches like Wiley’s?
Acupuncture is a very complex and beautiful medicine; I could talk for hours on how acupuncture can help with stomach aches. The easiest way to explain it is that sometimes our bodies can get out of balance because of diet, lifestyle or things we were born with.
By using acupuncture, I’m stimulating certain points on certain channels to bring the body back into balance. When people come in with a stomach virus, I can help to ease the discomfort and I work to help get it out of your system faster. That can mean it gets worse for a short period of time, but it will leave your system faster. It can help to regulate digestion, reduce acid reflux and soothe a general upset stomach.
What are doctors looking for when they look at a patient’s tongue and take their pulse before a procedure?
Acupuncturists check your tongue for color, texture and coating. In addition, the shape of your tongue can be an indicator of poor health. Regions of the tongue correspond with different organs of the body. The pulse indicates overall health and strength of energy. Rate is noted if it is abnormally fast, slow, or irregular, but what an acupuncturist tunes into is overall quality of the pulse as in strength, width, shape, depth, length.
Do you have any tips for readers on locating and seeking treatment for acupuncturists in their area?
My biggest recommendation would be to make sure you are seeing a licensed acupuncturist and not just a certified one. Licensed acupuncturists have to go through years of schooling and clinicals whereas most certified acupuncturists have to take a weekend course to be certified. I would also make sure to find someone you are comfortable with as that’s going to give you the best experience. Places like NCCAOM and ACUFinder are usually good to find someone local.
Do they tend to treat patients of all ages?
It depends. I know many acupuncturists prefer to treat adults only and some have pediatric only practices. It’s hard to generalize.
Is acupuncture covered by insurance?
Again, I can’t speak for everyone. I currently take insurance, but there’s always struggles with medical insurance. I know many acupuncturists are going to cash only practices, but not all. There are many acupuncturists still in network with insurance companies.
How many sessions does it take on average before they see results?
Each person is different, and each pain/illness/condition is different. Depending on how long someone has been suffering with something and how chronic it is can make a person require more sessions. If someone pulls a muscle, it might just be a session or two whereas someone coming in for women health and fertility, it might take a month or two to notice a change in their cycle.
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This is an amazing write-up. Quite detailed.
Thanks for reading!