MY MOMMY IS A NURSE PRACTITIONER

Harkness explores the role of the nurse practitioner in this illustrated children’s book.

Two excited young brothers with light-colored skin and fair hair talk about what their mother does in her job as a nurse practitioner: Similar to a doctor, a nurse practitioner helps people who are ill or injured, as well as those who seek preventative care. Mommy has been trained to help patients while working with doctors or by herself; a nurse practitioner is able to write prescriptions like a doctor, which is something that regular nurses aren’t trained to do. The author assures readers that even though the job requires some long, difficult days (“Most days Mommy’s job is hard, but some days it’s really, really hard”), helping people is what the narrators’ Mommy truly loves. The boys recognize the qualities in Mommy that make her a good fit for the job, including creativity, kindness, and dedication. (She says the boys’ hugs are healing, too—and Mommy definitely knows how to heal people, so it must be true.) The story ends with the whole family spending time together outside; the kids know that Mommy always tries to make time for them no matter how busy her schedule at work turns out to be. Claro’s illustrations are cartoonish and appear digitally rendered—some of the human characters have a haunting quality to their large eyes and smiles, especially the two young blond narrators. Happily, the illustrator does depict a wide range of ages, races, and body types throughout a series of vignettes demonstrating various nurse practitioner tasks. The stylized font used on some words for emphasis may be confusing to some readers because the letters are so close together. Harkness makes sure to emphasize that anyone can be a nurse practitioner, giving young readers a positive possible aspiration for the future.

A simple story that demystifies a medical profession in an engaging way for young readers.