I'm Getting a Checkup

by Marilyn Singer, David Milgrim (Illustrator)

Book by Singer, Marilyn

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Science

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Marilyn Singer was born in the Bronx (New York City) on October 3, 1948 and lived most of her early life in N. Massapequa (Long Island), NY. She attended Queens College, City University of New York, and for her junior year, Reading University, England. She holds a B.A. in English from Queens and an M.A. in Communications from New York University.

In 1974, after teaching English in New York City high schools for several years, she began to write - initially film notes, catalogues, teacher's guides and film strips. Then, one day, when she was sitting in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, she penned a story featuring talking insect characters she'd made up when she was eight. Encouraged by the responses she got, she wrote more stories and in 1976 her first book, The Dog Who Insisted He Wasn't, was published by E.P.Dutton & Co.

Since then, Marilyn has published over seventy books for children and young adults. Her genres are many and varied, including realistic novels, fantasies, non-fiction, fairy tales, picture books, mysteries and poetry. She likes writing many different kinds of books because it's challenging and it keeps her from getting bored. She has won several Children's Choice and Parents' Choice Awards, as well as the following: the Creature Carnival, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, 2005; I Believe in Water: Twelve Brushes with Religion, New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age," 2001; Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2000 (YALSA); On the Same Day in March, Booklist's Top Ten Science Books of 2000; NCSS-CBC Notable Book, 2000; Deal with a Ghost, finalist, YA category, Edgar Award, 1998; It Can't Hurt Forever, Maud Hart Lovelace Award, 1983; The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 1983; Turtle in July, NCTE Notable, N.Y.Times Best Illustrated and Time Magazine Best Children's Books of 1989; Turtle in July was also a Reading Rainbow review book.

Marilyn currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Steve; their standard poodle Oggi, a cousin of their beloved and recently departed poodle Easy, seen in the home page photo; a cat named August ; two collared doves named Jubilee and Holiday; and a starling named Darling. Her interests include dog training, reading, hiking, bird-watching, gardening, meditation, playing computer adventure games and going to the movies and the theatre. She's also a major Star Trek fan.

Reviews

[Marguarite Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book to introduce preschoolers to the concept of going to the doctor. The illustrations are child-friendly. The words are simple and rhyming. Great selection for parents/teachers looking to introduce "doctor visits" to their 3-6 year old children.

[KieraK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great informative book that would be really good for the kid who needs to know, or the one scared about a doctor visit.

[Jerrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child, I was always scared to visit the doctors. I remember after every visit, the nurses would bribe my siblings and I to come back for our next check-up with a cartoon sticker. This was their way to make my doctors visit "enjoyable." If I would of read this book back when i was a child, I think that I would of looked forward to my visits.

I think this book did a good job preparing parents and children on what to expect before and during their doctors visits. I really liked how on each page there were little puppies acting out what the nurse/ doctor was practicing on the child. This added humor and emotion to make the child reading this book think, "if puppies can go to the doctors, then I should too!" As I was reading this to book to my nephew, he noticed the character in the book was reading the book he was in. I thought this was cool because it was somewhat of a circle effect which made the reader think that the character was also scared of the doctors.

I noticed that the illustrations were cartoon-like pictures. There were a lot of colors which make kids enjoy books even more. One thing I didn't like about the book is that the font styles and where the text was being placed was odd. I didn't appreciate the different fonts especially, this made the reading kind of difficult. Other than that, this book was worth reading and I hope this book prepares the child and parent reading it.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you need a book about visiting the doctor for your collection, this is a fine choice. The illustrations are colorful and friendly, the character are diverse, and the information is presented clearly. Each page has a rhyming simple text and a more in-depth, descriptive paragraph about a doctor's tool. A few bunnies are present in every scene, playing and being mischievous in the exam room. There's no real reason for them but they add some comic relief to the story.

Another nice thing about this particular book is that it will age well. The illustrations won't feel dated quickly and the simple information will be accurate for a long time. The only thing that is missing is computers and I'm not sure that that is critical to include in a book for young children about a visit to the doctor.

Recommended for children up to age 7.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book to read aloud with any child who is going to the doctor. It describes in detail the different aspects of a checkup and what to expect. It also discusses the process and importance of getting a vaccination. Our youngest picked this one out at our library and she really liked it (especially the illustrations.)

[Courtney]

Cute! Great for toddlers and up who are curious about doctor visits or doctor tools. This one is nice because it has a simple explanation what is happening in the story, great for the youngest readers. It also has bolded longer paragraphs for more detailed information for bigger kids with longer attention spans explaining exactly how each tool works in detail.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An option for sharing with a nervous preschooler who is visiting the doctor's office. By this age, children have had multiple visits to the doctor but may have new awareness of their feelings. The book provides scientific details about different parts of the body and aspects of the exam.