Jane Clarke (1) (1954–)

So many animals are excited for the upcoming Paws and Prizes competition, but none more so than Posy the Puppy. But when Dr. KittyCat and her mouse assistant Peanut are called to the playing field to help an injured animal, it's none other than Posy! Can Posy be healed in time to compete and maybe win a blue ribbon like she so desperately wants?

This is a charming book to launch a short chapter book series for younger elementary school-age children. Even though the characters are all animals, there is a little bit of diversity in that not all of the animals are male. Furthermore, the doctor herself is female.

Although it is at face value just a silly book with talking animals, this book actually does a fairly good job of showing medical professionals at work. Obviously, it is not an exact corollary, but it provides some overviews of the various tools used -- including backmatter that explains each one a little more, complete with illustrations. This is not only informative in general, but useful for youngsters who might be a little trepidatious about doctors' visit but now have an understanding of why certain things happen there. For example, they will learn that a cold metal disc being pressed to their chest is to listen to their heartbeat and breathing and that the proper term is a stethoscope.

Peanut declares midway through this book that "Sometimes being a doctor is just being like a detective!" and that's very fitting as he and Dr. KittyCat try to determine exactly what is wrong with Posy based on conversations with her and the other animals at the playing field. As an adult, it was clear to me what went wrong fairly early on, and I'm curious as to whether young readers will also be able to figure it out as well. It's certainly good practice for them to think about hints dropped by the author, learning about foreshadowing.

The illustrations are super cute and definitely add to the appeal of this book. There are black-and-white photos of real animals on basically every page. Then the author uses purely purple to color in details around them, such as Dr. KittyCat's lab coat and equipment bag. My particular favorite that gave me a little giggle every time I saw it was the illustration of Fennel the Fox wearing a purple baseball hat upon his head.

This is a great book to read aloud to younger elementary school-age children (such as a chapter a night at bedtime) or for them to try and tackle on their own. It's a great extension for classroom units on community helpers (which often includes mention of doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc.) and for kids who enjoy playing doctor or vet during pretend play sessions.… (més)