Books for Children Recovering From Surgery

Each year, millions of children have hospital stays, but such visits can be overwhelming for youngsters. Ease your little one through a hospital stay and recovery with a book that will help to draw out her emotions. The distractions of a book will help to pass the time, and through identifying with other characters, she will find it easier to communicate her own reactions and feelings about surgery.

  1. Fiction for Ages 4 to 6

    • Follow a beloved book character through his journey to the hospital and back home. Choose from ̶0;Franklin Goes To The Hospital,̶1; by Paulette Bourgeois or ̶0;Little Critter: My Trip to the Hospital,̶1; by Mercer Mayer. In ̶0;Gaspard in the Hospital,̶1; a Gaspard and Lisa book in the series by Anne Gutman, children will empathize with the emotions of the little bunny, who makes a trip to the hospital after swallowing a key. Pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Shivani Bhatia wrote ̶0;The Surgery Book: For Kids̶1; about little Iggy who has eye surgery. Bhatia̵7;s story helps to reassure young patients about the entire process.

    Fiction for Ages 7 to 8

    • In ̶0;Curious George Goes to the Hospital,̶1; by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey, the lovable monkey recovers from surgery to remove a puzzle piece he mistakenly ate. Dr. Teresa Magone prepares children for a trip to the hospital and recovery in her book ̶0;Little Bunny Has Belly Surgery.̶1; At the end of the story, Little Bunny celebrates that he finally ̶0;did not have any pain, none, nix, zip and nada,̶1; and he could ̶0;get up, line up, do a push up and even eat an enchilada.̶1;

    Journals

    • ̶0;My Surgery Journal,̶1; by Katie Rae Kinsella and Erin Marie Coss, provides an outlet for children to communicate how they are feeling through both words and drawings. Cartoon kids called the ̶0;Ouch Patrol̶1; help children to know how to communicate their pain and emotions to parents and doctors. The book turns the experience into a positive way to open up and communicate, even providing autograph pages for the doctors and nurses. ̶0;Hospital Journal,̶1; by Ann Banks, offers children a chance to describe their feelings and reactions to their hospital stay.

    Sticker Books

    • Give your child another outlet with ̶0;Going to the Hospital Sticker Book,̶1; by Anne Civardi, Kirsteen Rogers and Stephen Cartwright. The motions of looking through the book to find the right stickers for each page can help distract your child from pain or other concerns after surgery. Another sticker book, ̶0;First Experiences: Going to the Hospital,̶1; published by Parragon Books, offers a timely distraction for your small recovering patient. Children can read along, solve puzzles and find stickers through the interactive story.

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