Hospital Book, The [Paperback]

James Howe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 1994 | Age Level: 4 and up

A guide to a stay in the hospital discussing what happens there, the people one meets, what will hurt, and how one gets better and goes home.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 2-6. This revision of a book originally published in 1981 features a new, full-color jacket illustration and an attractive, redesigned layout. The text is virtually unchanged (one paragraph about oral medication has been deleted), and most of the original photographs have been retained, with a few new ones added. Many of the photographs have been cropped or enlarged in order to focus more on the young patients or to remove scary-looking equipment (the recovery room is much cheerier without the tubes, wires, and monitors that appear in the photographs in the earlier book). In some cases, the clarity of the pictures has suffered, but most pictures have been improved. It would have been helpful had Howe added a section on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), a new technology that is incredibly noisy and potentially frightening to children. Libraries that own the original book may not need to purchase this edition, but those that don't will find the book well worth the price. Howe's sensitive explanation of hospital procedures will do much to allay the fears of young patients and their parents. Chris Sherman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 94 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 25, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688127347
• ISBN-13: 978-0688127343
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,954,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Howe has written more than eighty books in the thirty-plus years he's been writing for young readers. It sometimes confuses people that the author of the humorous Bunnicula series also wrote the dark young adult novel, The Watcher, or such beginning reader series as Pinky and Rex and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels. But from the beginning of his career (which came about somewhat by accident after asking himself what kind of vampire a rabbit might make), he has been most interested in letting his imagination take him in whatever direction it cared to. So far, his imagination has led him to picture books, such as I Wish I Were a Butterfly and Brontorina (about a dinosaur who dreams of being a ballerina), mysteries, poetry (in the upcoming Addie on the Inside), and fiction that deals with issues that matter deeply to him. He is especially proud of The Misfits, which inspired national No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) and its sequel Totally Joe. He does not know where his imagination will take him in the next thirty-plus years, but he is looking forward to finding out.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best there is of its kind, November 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hospital Book, The (Paperback)

Although in some ways encyclopedic, this is THE book to have if your child faces surgery or other serious hospital procedures. I agree with the other reviewer that it can be a bit scary, especially for children who may be visiting the hospital for relatively minor procedures such as x-rays or even day surgery. But for the child, at least 4yr and medically savvy, this book is ideal. It covers everything that children might see or experience. It does not offer the same openings for expressing fear and apprehension that A Hospital Story does, but The Hospital Book is clearly designed to be more or a resource book than a story book (and its length does not really allow you to just sit down and read it to your child--although I did with my 4 year old). My daughter was well prepared to understand anesthesia and recovery rooms/holding rooms, etc. and to have some sense of who all the many people were in the hospital.

2.0 out of 5 stars Very indepth and realistic. Scary for young children., January 10, 2000

By 

Ann Burney (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hospital Book, The (Paperback)

My terminally ill daughter had been to many hospital visits and surgeries when I bought this book for her at four after reading the age range and Editor's Reviews above. She didn't like the real photos of children with tubes and wires in them. It may not be a good choice for children under 7, even if you want to introduce a little reality into the situation. The black and white photos can be bleak and depressing also. It desperately needs new photos!

For older children, it covers everything! Every procedure and machine. But it's kind of like reading a medical dictonary, and seeing all the horrible things that can go wrong, when you just want to see how the heart works.