Why Is It So Hard to Breathe?: A First Look At Asthma

by Pat Thomas, Leslie Harker (Illustrator)

An easy-to-understand text complemented with color illustrations reassures children who suffer from asthma, explaining what it is and reminding them that with proper treatment and medical council, they can participate in all childhood activities and lead normal lives. All titles in the very helpful A First Look at. . . series speak directly to preschool and early-grades children, encouraging them to explore their feelings and talk to trusted elders about ways of dealing with things that bother them. Some problems discussed in these books are passing in nature and can be solved with relative ease. Others, like those treated in this new title, encourage children who have long-term health problems to trust in the professional medical care that they require, and not be frightened by it. The book features child-friendly color illustrations on every page. A brief section at the end of the book presents specific advice and information for parents.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

There is more than one Pat Thomas in the Goodreads catalog. This entry focuses on Pat^Thomas, children's author.

Pat is a trained psychotherapist, naturopath and journalist. After working as a journalist and broadcaster in the USA, she now works in the field of child development and writes for various publications including 'Practical Parenting'.

Reviews

[Mdkim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about how to take care of someone who has asthma or if you have it yourself. The book also explains how asthma is diagnosed and how those patients are having a hard time breathing. Both adults and kids diagnosed with asthma have more trouble breathing. But, those patients do not have to be afraid because they can do many activities as normal people. There are many people that we see on TV who are also diagnosed with asthma and they encourage patients who have asthma to take extra care of themselves.

The overall theme of Why Is It So Hard to Breathe is to encourage patients who have asthma not to be discouraged because they can use tools such as an inhaler to treat asthma. The story also encourages people with asthma to exercise caution and try to focus on activities that will not affect their health.

Reading Why Is It So Hard to Breathe opened my mind as a future educator. The purpose is that I never know if I am going to have student with asthma or not. As a future educator, it is important for me to understand what kind of activities I should choose to implement in the class and how to encourage students with asthma so that they don’t feel left out.

I would recommend this book because students and children will understand and have sympathy for someone who is diagnosed with asthma. Instead of judging them, the students and children will be able to support the classmate’s needs. Lastly, it will teach the experience that asthma patients are facing in their daily lives.