The Doll Hospital

by Kallie George, Sara Gillingham (Illustrator)

Overview

When toys need a little (or a lot of!) TLC, they head to the Doll Hospital in this endearing picture book in the tradition of Doc McStuffins. Don’t worry, toys, Dr. Pegs will have you feeling better in no time!

It’s a quiet morning at the Doll Hospital until...
DING-A-LING-A-LING!
The emergency bells ring!
Here comes a patient who needs Dr. Pegs’s help.

Dr. Pegs is about to get to work when...
DING-A-LING-A-LING!
Here comes another patient! And another!

How will Dr. Pegs take care of them all? Looks like the doctor needs some help herself!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534401211
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kallie George holds a master’s degree in children’s literature from the University of British Columbia. She is the author of many acclaimed books for children, including the chapter book series the Magical Animal Adoption Agency and The Heartwood Hotel, and the picture books The Lost Gift and Secrets I Know. When she’s not writing, she leads workshops for aspiring writers. Kallie lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her family—and her two stuffies, Teddy and Flopsy. Visit her online at KallieGeorge.com.

Sara Gillingham is an award-winning art director and designer who has helped publish many bestselling books for children. Sara is the author and illustrator of many beloved children’s books including How to Grow a Friend, the bestselling In My series, the Empowerment series, and Snuggle the Baby. Sara lives with her family in Vancouver, British Columbia. Find out more about Sara’s studio at SaraGillingham.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Dr. Pegs, with red pigtails and wide brown eyes, is planning a slow day at the doll hospital, organizing buttons. But that’s before the doorbell rings—one, two, three, four times.... The illustrations, made of cut paper, cloth, stuffing, ink, and digital techniques, give a three-dimensional look to the artwork and provide a symmetry of shape and color, primarily reds, greens, buffs, and browns. If a hospital visit can be fun, it’s this one."

April 2018 Booklist

"What starts out as a quiet day at the Doll Hospital quickly becomes a hectic one as patient after patient arrives with various problems that need fixing.... Written in a cumulative manner with bright, colorful digital illustrations rendered in a simple color palette, this is a sweet story that will capture the hearts of little ones with their own favorite dolls."

School Library Journal

"It's not only the patients, but the doctor and nurses who are dolls, too.... Collage and digital illustrations have a charming retro look with a palette that relies on red, green, yellow, and brown... the text is cumulative in a satisfying way... the instinct to care for others is important to nurture."

April 2018 Kirkus Reviews

2018-03-18
It's not only the patients, but the doctor and nurses who are dolls, too.Dr. Pegs, a doll with Raggedy Ann-orange hair, a light brown face, and green scrubs, gets overwhelmed when too many patients arrive. There's Portia, a pretty, brown porcelain doll with a cracked arm, and Scoop, a blond, pink-faced stuffed boy doll with a tummy ache. Then come Baby, a white doll whose talking mechanism is broken ("Instead of saying ‘Mommy,' she says, ‘MOO!' "), and Teddy, a brown bear missing one eye. Dr. Pegs had one chore in mind: to sort the buttons, needed for emergencies. Now she's terribly flustered and must ring the "special bell" for the Nesting Nurses. A set of nurses with diverse racial identities, resembling Russian wooden dolls, arrives and efficiently solves every toy's problem, even sorting the pesky buttons. In fact, they do all the work, but Dr. Pegs centers herself when she says "I couldn't have done it without you." Collage and digital illustrations have a charming retro look with a palette that relies on red, green, yellow, and brown (and, interestingly, no black), and the text is cumulative in a satisfying way, but the message is mixed. Although the doctor is female and cheerfully thanks her female assistants, she still manages to come out on top. Couldn't medical teamwork have been shown in a more enlightened way?Although the instinct to care for others is important to nurture, this seems like an unnecessary throwback to an earlier era. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews