Right Reads…Book reviews for babies, kids and teens

“Sadie’s Sore Throat” was the third Dr. Hippo book my toddler picked up after reading “The Little Elephant with the Big Earache” and The Moose with Loose Poops.

I think he was attracted by the brightly illustrated cover (by Katy Bratun) and the three giraffes (or gee-wuffs).

The story of “Sadie’s Sore Throat” begins with little Sadie who is beading for her School Art Fair while her little brother, Barley (?) plays with his toy aeroplane.

Sadie, Barley and Mom talk about handicrafts they can make when Mom notices that Sadie didn’t eat her snack or drink her favourite orange juice. Oh no, Sadie has a sore throat!

The story gets interesting because Sadie is quite an assertive girl (or giraffe).

• She balks at taking medicine because her throat is sore;
• Although she has a fever, she refuses to see the paediatrician, Dr. Hippo and
• She mentions that her “tummy hurts too” when Mom tells the doc what’s wrong.

The story ends happily with Sadie spending the day at Grandma’s house and gets well enough to finish her “secret” project for competition at the Art Fair.

He loved the book because he could identify with many familiar situations in the story:

• having a sore throat – he had a really BAD one last summer where he lost his voice;
• refusing to listen to Mummy when told to go somewhere…
• the FUN waiting room and the paediatrician’s office – crayons, books, tacked drawings, jigsaw puzzles, lots of toys but interestingly, he didn’t recognize the train wedged in the toy box (when he woefully pointed out, “NO train…”, I said “See, there’s a train in the toy box!” but he disagreed. He said, “It’s not a train. It’s a house!”  Uh-oh…
• laughing and imitating Sadie when she sticks out her tongue;
• getting stickers from the doctor;
• balloons and boat rides at the fair and
• of course the PURPLE popsicles!!!

For me, I find the “Simplifying Sore Throats” guide for parents really helpful especially as Dr. Cowan points out that antibiotics only work for BACTERIA and not on viruses.

I thought this was great especially as doctors in some countries tend to prescribe antibiotics as if they are candy or sweets.

I love “Sadie’s Sore Throat” because Sadie has a little brother, Barley, which was great to prepare my child the idea of having a brother or a sister

I think little girls will like this book because it’s got a strong arts and crafts theme throughout the story.

Rating:

Check out Dr. Cowan’s series of Dr. Hippo books:

Last week, when Lucas returned from preschool, I told him that the postman had a “present” for him.

Of course, he couldn’t wait to open the box and was *really excited* when he saw these 4 books:

He couldn’t wait to read ALL of them that I had to read him the four books one after another

“The Little Elephant with the Big Earache” was his first choice because he is now crazy over Pooh’s “Heffalump Movie”…

It’s quite an exciting story because Eddie the elephant spends a fun day making mud pies (or “sandcastles”) but wakes up the next day with a terrible earache.

Lucas empathized with the elephant when he saw Eddie’s tears, the elephant taking medicine and his Mummy comforting him…

When Eddie visits Dr. Hippo, Lucas remembers the stethoscope and the flashlight the paediatrician used when he was checked for bronchitis.

Of course, he was happy when Eddie gets well in time for his birthday party

We enjoyed reading the book because the story was well-paced and the brightly-coloured illustrations with lots of action by Elaine Garvin held Lucas’ attention from start to end.

Hey, even Phylicia Rashad from The Cosby Show agrees that it’s

“such a joy to look at and to read”!

I’m thankful that he’s never had an earache because I’ve had it twice and was in absolute agony because I had to fly both times.

I find Dr. Cowan’s guide for parents “Ear Infections Made Easy: Answers to Common Questions” really useful and because she was previously an English teacher, she takes extra care to ensure that the guide has clear illustrations to help non-English speaking parents.

If I may suggest, it’d be great if:

Thank you again to Dr. Charlotte Cowan for another great book for parents

Get Dr. Cowan’s books: