Brown, Lisa. Hospital Book, The. Lisa Brown, Illus. Neal Porter, 03/2023. 40pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-8234-4665-0. GRADES Kindergarten–3. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Hospitals can be scary and stressful for young children. As she did with The Airport Book (Roaring Brook Press, 2016), author and illustrator Lisa Brown demystifies another big, overwhelming place for young readers. We follow every step of our young patient’s experience, from pain and illness to diagnosis and her path back to good health. Brown uses the device of counting the nine times that our patient cries and why she cries, from the point of view of the little girl: when “the car went over a bump,” when “the doctor pressed on my stomach,” “in the operating room.” And she also lets us know when she didn’t cry, which is much more often: “when the nurse took my temperature,” “when I got a funny robe,” “when the doctor said I needed an operation.” There is a lot of activity outside the hospital of people coming and going and the activity inside the hospital is even more bustling, demonstrating that people coming to the hospital for help are not alone. Brown’s ink and watercolor illustrations are warm and comforting, but also filled with the sights and sounds a young patient will experience. The patient has light brown skin and black hair; one parent has light tan skin and blonde hair and the other has light brown skin and curly black hair as well. Pair with Bemelmens’s Madeline (Viking Press, 1939) for youngest readers.
Pauline Harris—San Francisco Public Library