Dr. Fauci, an illustrated book with background and keeps it straight

Let’s start this out by saying Dr. Fauci, How A Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor has nuggets that both the left and right will use for their talking points. In actuality, this is an illustrated book that plays it straight down the middle and it’s a shame that some people see absolutely everything through a political prism. Due to COVID, Fauci is of course a household name. Our nine-year-old, who has never seen a nightly newscast, knew who Dr. Fauci is during the height of the pandemic. This is a book that inspires curiosity and wants young readers to ask questions, which is something that everybody should agree on, right?

The text in Dr. Fauci is by Kate Messner and on a level that most nine-year-olds will be able to read it by themselves. There are lots of simple sentences, some compound ones, and a handful of complex sentences. Some vocabulary, like emerging, criticized, overwhelmed and a couple of others will need to be defined for those younger readers. Those words are certainly in the minority and the thrust of Dr. Fauci is that it’s a read-along illustrated book. This is the type of book that will be at home being read to curious kids at bedtime or for storytime in a classroom.

The calming illustrations are by Alexandra Bye and fill the pages when needed and provide a visual timeline of his life so far. We catch a glimpse into his life as a child when his parents had a drugstore, his love of athletics, time at university, researching, and normal life.

Dr. Fauci shows young readers the time and hard work that was required to become a doctor. It also demonstrates how normal it is to ask questions, keep an open mind and gather evidence. Getting that evidence requires proof, which has to done through experiments and research. The uniqueness of COVID, and the fact that the world hadn’t seen anything like this yet is one of the key underlying themes of the book once it sets foot in today’s modern timeline.

There are two pages at the end of the book that will comfort young readers also. They touch on how vaccines work and are vaccines safe. Our kids have been asking us these questions and both of those topics are answered in surprising detail for an illustrated book. It highlights the phases vaccines will go through, teaches kids that vaccines aren’t medicine, and even makes the analogy that kids are a disease-fighting hero.

Dr. Fauci has two pages also that he wrote that are five tips for future scientists. Each point is important and will help kids think about things in a rational and even manner. His number four-point, remember that science is self-correcting, is one that my friends on the left and right need to remember. For those young doctors in training, there’s a list of additional books that elementary and middle school readers will enjoy.

Dr. Fauci How A Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor is an illustrated book that shows the life of a young kid who grew up to become the medical face of COVID. It sticks to the facts and doesn’t draw opinions one way or the other. If you’re an educator or want to teach your kids even more, then read the curriculum guide so that you can ask probing questions while digging into the book.

Dr. Fauci How A Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor is by Kate Messner with illustrations by Alexandra Bye and on Simon & Schuster.

There are affiliate links in this post.