All Better

by Inese Zandere, Catherine Ann Cullen (translator), Reinis Petersons (illustrator)

Everyone hates going to the doctor - taking their medicine, having their temperature taken, maybe having to go for surgery. This collection of poems and rhymes helps to make being sick a little less scary, with poems about broken bones, the chickenpox, having an injection and many more - with characters that will make young readers smile and laugh. Children can sing along to Owen's Broken Bone Blues, meet Ultan Ulrich Ultrasound - the man who can look right into your insides with his magical powers - and Eliza Analyser, who looks at all your cells under the microscope. Translated from Latvian and retold for the English market by award-winning Irish poet Catherine Ann Cullen.

32 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jennifer Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was originally written in Latvian, then translated into English in the UK. I bought a copy at Charlie Byrne bookshop in Galway, Ireland. For young American readers, there might be some meaning/content that's lost in translation (references to certain medical instruments and procedures), but it's a light, sing-songy, sweet book about getting sick, going "to hospital," and most importantly getting better. I was drawn to it for its adorable illustrations which remind me a bit of the work of https://mairakalman.com/. It might be a good book to introduce to young kids who deal with chronic illness or who have a family member who is ill. I think my favorite spread is The Syringe and the Drip (again, would explain in a very simple way to young kids these two devices.)