Doctors

July 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Through excellent combinations of simple sentences and full-bleed stock photos, these books inform young readers about helpers in their communities. What sets this series apart from similar titles, such as RosenPowerkids's "On the Job" series (2010), is that the people in the photos are named-and that these names are easy to read and pronounce. For example, Mail Carriers states, "Cora is on a route. She goes to the same houses each day. Today she has a package. It is for Mr. Ross." Despite the simplicity of the text, Doctors does not shy away from tough topics, showing a close-up image of a patient receiving an injection and later one of a smiling boy entering an MRI machine accompanied by the text "Ty has cancer. He is in the hospital. Dr. Cole takes care of him." While the title page of Librarians features a card catalog, the rest of the book shows librarians helping adults and children using computers for research. A note to parents and teachers encourages adults to talk with children as they read the text and explore pictures together. Indeed, this series is ideally suited to modeling dialogic reading in a storytime and expose children to easy nonfiction. Libraries looking to strengthen their easy nonfiction collection will greatly benefit from these additions.-Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2014
Preschool-G With declarative text and glossy, full-bleed photos, the Community Helpers series introduces adult professions to the youngest readers. What sets this package apart from similar series is a particularly clean and stylish design and a willingness to show the unpleasant sides of the joban unusual but welcome approach. Doctors is especially sober. Sensitive readers may be disturbed by those flecks of blood on the surgeon's coat, and that close-up of stitches going in may cause even adults to blanch, too. The tone is kept light ( Ow! It hurts a little ) even when the situation is serious: Ty has cancer. An impressive blend of comforting tones plus realistic content.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)