Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Book Review: Nurse Florence, What is Bacterial Meningitis? (children's book)(OT)

Nurse Florence, What is Bacterial Meningitis? by Michael Dow (Lulu.com, $32.99, 2022, 1 year and up, 96 pp) Review by Skye Anderson

Excellent Idea!

What an excellent idea for a series of books - a dialogue between kids and a nurse. Sometimes a nurse can explain things better than a doctor, even medical terms, but the recommended age range, for ages 1 and up, is a bit misleading. We might recommend it more for kids 12 and up who have an interest in science, medicine or disease.

Another great idea was to use a child's drawings to illustrate every left-hand page, with the text on the right-hand page. And, the nurse uses her phone to access pictures as part of her explanation. If only brighter colors were used!

We agree with author Michael Dow's use of medical and scientific terms, even for a young audience but it might be more exciting to have fewer facts and to make the story more applicable to the age group, e.g., by having a younger sibling contract meningitis and follow the family through the disease.

We also like the page of references in the back and would suggest a glossary of terms for the next edition.

Bacterial Meningitis is fast-reading with very large print. Give it a try!

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