Thanks, Doc! People Who Help Keep Me Healthy by Janet Preus

IT'S NO FUN BEING SICK.

IT'S GOOD THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP YOU FEEL BETTER.

ARE YOU READY TO MEET THE PEOPLE WHO HELP YOU STAY HEALTHY?

When young children are ill, they don't understand why they don't feel right, and a needed trip to a doctor's or dentist's office can be especially scary. Pediatricians and pediatric dentist try to make their offices friendly with happy colors and cartoon characters, but it's no surprise that medical protective gear and devices are a bit off-putting for preschoolers who are already not feeling their best. But with preparation, such as books and SOME well-child visits to medical offices, that experience can be made less painful for all concerned. 

And Janet Preus' People Who Help Keep Me Healthy (Cantata Learning) can be a good way to start. Watching her main character, climbing up on the examination table and meeting the nurse in uniform and mask, complete with stethoscope and tongue depressors, which breaks the ice so that when the doctor comes in for the examination, the kid has had time to get used to the experience. And there is a similar introduction to the dental office with its hygienist and the dentist who examines the teeth.

And there's a bouncy song included in the text for youngsters to sing (lyrics and music provided) which makes the process familiar and help kids get comfortable with the whole process, aimed especially for preschool and Kindergarten students. In this period of pandemic medicine, it is especially important that young children be familiar with personal hygiene and the role of medical professionals in keeping them "happy, healthy, and well." Along with the jolly illustrations by Charlotte Cooke and Dan Crisp, author Preus adds an appendix with song lyrics with musical notation, a glossary, bibliography and some guided learning activities for young children.

THANK YOU, DOCTORS AND DENTISTS, NURSES AND HYGIENISTS.