Angela Mae Benchley Dusty: Mad or Sad

Annotation

Dusty: Mad or Sad is the story of a young gray mouse and her journey with Bipolar Disorder. Dusty is different than her family for she is gray and they are purple. Her family notices her behavior begins to change where she becomes very moody. Episodes of mania and depression are depicted in kid-friendly text and colorful illustrations for a family to read together so they can better understand the illness. This is a story of perseverance and working together when a loved one is experiencing challenges. The author relates her actual experiences to Dusty and creates a story that describes real life experiences of the cycling of moods even though it is a fictional character. After reading this book families will discover there is hope for one to live a balanced life when given the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder.