I Want to Be a Doctor

Reviewed by: Sarah Cropley - Scarborough Public Library, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 6, 2018

Review

I Want to Be a Doctor is another book in Laura Driscoll's series of easy readers about community helpers. An unnamed black girl with puffy afro pigtails is at the hospital with her family and little brother, Jack. Jack jumped off a bunk bed and hurt his foot. The little girl is taken through the hospital over the course of her brother's treatment and meets lots of different types of doctors. The doctors are a mix of genders and ethnicities (as cued by skin color, hair texture, and occasionally last name). The text is clear and well supported by the pictures. The illustrations are playful and lively, drawing the reader into the book. A glossary at the back of the book gives the true names for each of the doctors that are otherwise identified in simpler terms (i.e. baby doctor instead of neonatologist). This diverse and joyful reader will make any child want to be a doctor--and feel as though they can.

Overall Book Score: very good