Doctor Nice

July 1, 2015
A going-to-the-doctor picture book with a playful twist. While some picture books about doctor visits focus on common fears about shots and such, this one instead immediately assuages such anxieties with its title and then presents a medical office visit as a comforting time. The diminutive Dr. Nice is the story's hero, dispensing advice and care from behind a medical mask and voluminous scrubs. The grateful patients are all anthropomorphic animals who present with myriad ailments, ranging from a crow with a broken foot (injured while skiing) to a pig with a sore nose (diagnosis: frostbite). All the animals' problems seem to be provoked by the wintry weather, and the end of the story reveals that Dr. Nice is a child making the best of indoor playtime. The message seems to be that the best antidote to ward off a case of boredom is a healthy imagination. Throughout, Gorbachev's watercolor-and-ink illustrations infuse the simple tale with humor by emphasizing the size differential between Dr. Nice and some of his patients and by depicting the animals' various mishaps as they describe them. Finally, closing pictures move from imagination to reality to show all the animals as stuffed toys and invite reflection back on the story as a whole. Just what the doctor ordered for storytime fare. (Picture book. 3-5)

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September 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 1-Doctor Nice's patients line up to be seen for various ailments: a crow with a hurt foot, a moose with a cold, goats with headaches, and more. Each one describes what is wrong and implores the doctor to help. Doctor Nice bandages, soothes, and advises until only one patient remains: his mommy, calling the very busy doctor to lunch. Illustrations are done in Gorbachev's distinctive watercolor and ink with the animals appearing life size until Mommy appears. Then the perspective shifts to show the small doctor with his stuffed animal patients. VERDICT A good choice for young fans of make believe and Doc McStuffins.-Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Doctor Nice sensitively cares for a wide range of animal patients, dispensing cautionary advice while he bandages wounds and checks symptoms. It's Mommy's turn at story's end, revealing the doc as a child and the patients as stuffed animals. Cross-hatched watercolor and ink illustrations of the assorted critters' injurious antics accompany this warmhearted portrait of a diligent young healthcare expert at work.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)