A wonderful resource to help prepare children for medical intervention after an injury.
After an accident, a girl finds support, comfort, and care from kind medical staff in Kollias’ debut picture book.
Maria and her brother are jumping on the couch when she falls and breaks her arm. At the hospital, she encounters caring doctors and nurses who provide her with explanations to help her feel safe. For example, a nurse uses a blood pressure cuff to see “how well Maria’s HEART was working to pump blood around her body.” Maria also receives an IV and x-rays, and she receives medicine that puts her to sleep so that a doctor can make her arm straight. The author, an orthopedic surgeon, depicts medical processes using child-friendly language (“an x-ray is a picture of bones…taken with a special camera that can see through skin”). Overall, the story takes readers on a realistic journey, which concludes when Maria gets her cast removed. It also introduces educational elements, including anatomical terms: “Dr. Anna said Maria’s body was making ‘CALLUS’…a big ball of bone glue. The glue had calcium in it, to make…broken bones heal.” Guile’s (Bear Picks a Pumpkin, 2018, etc.) top-notch illustrations are charming and colorful, with diverse characters. They emphasize friendly faces, which will be particularly encouraging to young patients in similar circumstances.
A wonderful resource to help prepare children for medical intervention after an injury.Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-228-80221-1
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: Sept. 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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