(2) K-3 Illustrated by Richie Pope. Mary Seacole was raised by a Jamaican Creole mother who taught her herbal medicine and a Scottish soldier father whose stories inspired her to see the world. After using her skills during a cholera outbreak, Seacole is determined to volunteer as a nurse in the Crimean War, but first in London and then again on the battlefield she is turned away--by Florence Nightingale herself--because of her skin color. But Mary Seacole is not easily stopped, and she becomes a familiar sight welcoming people to her guest house/hospital and bringing her supplies to the battlefield, where she becomes known as Mother Seacole and eventually gains fame when a British journalist tells her story. Rubin sprinkles Seacole's own words throughout the book, bringing in some of her larger-than-life personality. The text is longer than a typical picture-book biography, making this a good choice for readers who may be ready for but intimidated by chapter-book biographies. Pope's illustrations have the difficult job of showing the devastating circumstances Seacole often finds herself in as a battlefield nurse, and his soft, cartoony watercolors deftly walk that line. Back matter includes source notes and a brief bibliography.

Reviewer: Lauren Kim | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(3) YA Illustrated by Ben Hutchings. Created by Briony Barr and Gregory Crocetti. After caring for a WWI soldier infected with dysentery on the Western Front in 1916, Sister Annie Barnaby, a nurse, contracts the disease herself. As the invading Shigella bacteria wreak havoc in her gut, Annie's body--via bacteriophage--fights back: "You infect, we protect!" Black-and-white panels focus on a microcosmic life-or-death battle in this engrossing graphic-novel mash-up of historical fiction and medical science.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) YA Practical teen Audrey questions her future the summer after graduation. Her professor parents push their local liberal arts college, but Audrey considers pursuing nursing out of state. A surprising (and authentic) romance with a boy devoted to their seaside-California hometown makes her decision harder. This breezy summer story boasts a well-balanced mix of romantic, family, and personal conflicts that will appeal to Sarah Dessen fans.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(3) K-3 Seedlings: Community Life series. With glossy photos and very simple sentences in large type, these well-designed introductions to community-helping careers are suited to emerging readers new to nonfiction. The texts cover the bare essentials, including each job's purpose and basic details of the work being done. A concluding photo-diagram points out a handful of supplies and equipment. Also available in Spanish. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Seedlings: Community Life titles: Construction Workers, Dentists, Farmers, Nurses, Teachers, and Veterinarians.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) 4-6 Fact Finders: First-Person Histories series. These slim volumes feature primary source accounts of the Civil War. Tillie Pierce helped nurse soldiers during the Battle of Gettsyburg, while Susie King Taylor, born a slave, worked with a troop of African American soldiers. The women's recollections are enhanced by an engaging, informative layout containing archival photos and illustrations plus relevant sidebars. Common Core–aligned questions are appended. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Fact Finders: First-Person Histories titles: Memoir of Susie King Taylor and Memoir of Tillie Pierce.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) 4-6 Fact Finders: First-Person Histories series. These slim volumes feature primary source accounts of the Civil War. Tillie Pierce helped nurse soldiers during the Battle of Gettsyburg, while Susie King Taylor, born a slave, worked with a troop of African American soldiers. The women's recollections are enhanced by an engaging, informative layout containing archival photos and illustrations plus relevant sidebars. Common Core–aligned questions are appended. Reading list, timeline. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Fact Finders: First-Person Histories titles: Memoir of Susie King Taylor and Memoir of Tillie Pierce.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) 4-6 Eleven-year-old orphan Joe gazes longingly out of his sealed hospital room in London and daydreams about superheroes; his only company is hospital staff, his sister, and (via Skype) an American friend with the same autoimmune disease. Then an unlikely ally, nurse Amir, offers Joe a thrilling and terrifying opportunity to go outside. However unrealistic the plot, readers will cheer as Joe faces his fears and makes an unforgettable connection.

Reviewer: Rebecca Kirshenbaum

(3) YA Women of Action series. After an intimate foreword by a female medical resident, engaging profiles of (mainly American) women in medicine are divided among three sections: pioneers who received formal medical training in the nineteenth century, important contributors to twentieth-century medicine, and current practitioners. Each bio emphasizes personal strengths and triumphs over adversities and ends with suggested resources. Historical photographs portray the women at work. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) YA During WWI, fifteen-year-old Poppy leaves her job as a parlormaid at a UK estate in order to serve as a volunteer nursing assistant. Hardworking Poppy cares for her country's injured soldiers with diligence and optimism while entertaining some chaste romances. Her persistent guilelessness can be bland, but Poppy is a generally appealing Everygirl with a unique perspective on the historical period. Bib.

Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald

(4) YA Spanning five years, this emotionally wrenching love story explores the intersecting lives of three high-school seniors, Sloan, Dawson, and Lani, as they navigate life-altering events (e.g., teen pregnancy, drug overdose) and difficult choices. With frequent timeline jumps, the story develops as flashes of events rather than a well-composed narrative, but the quick pacing will keep readers engrossed.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(4) K-3 Bumba Books: Hooray for Community Helpers! series. This serviceable series covers a good variety of community-helping careers. Each book has brightly colored pages; large type; and cheery stock photos featuring men, women, and kids of different ethnicities. Some volumes are overly simplistic (Farmers, for instance), but question bubbles will help young readers think more about the topics. A photographic "tools" guide is appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Bumba Books: Hooray for Community Helpers! titles: Hooray for Nurses!, Hooray for Pilots!, Hooray for Police Officers!, Hooray for Teachers!, Hooray for Chefs!, Hooray for Construction Workers!, Hooray for Farmers, and Hooray for Veterinarians!.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(2) YA Reef brings her keen eye for character to the "Lady with the Lamp." At a time when a woman was expected to "[obey] her husband," Florence Nightingale acquiesced to no one, finding meaning in her work and advancing the nursing profession like few before or since. Making fine use of primary sources, Reef paints a complete picture of the complex woman. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(3) K-3 A straightforward text of declarative sentences describes Florence Nightingale's childhood, training, service in Crimean War hospitals, and lifelong crusade to reform nursing and health care. The true draw of this clear picture book biography, however, is Demi's simple line-drawn illustrations with collage elements: close reader attention will reveal rats, chamber pots, leaky roofs, and other engrossing details. Reading list, timeline.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) YA Using historical interviews and modern correspondence with the subjects' relatives, Farrell presents a fascinating account of the more than one hundred army and navy nurses who served in the South Pacific in WWII. Through every battle and retreat, and even in POW camps, these nurses cared for the injured under the most primitive of conditions. The book's utilitarian design features archival photographs. Timeline, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(3) 1-3 Magic Tree House series. Illustrated by Sal Murdocca. Siblings Jack and Annie are off on two more time-traveling adventures for Merlin the Magician. They journey to mid-nineteenth-century Egypt in search of Florence Nightingale in High Time and to Coney Island at the turn of the last century in Houdini. The series' formula, which blends magic, adventure, sibling dynamics, and history, is successful in these fiftieth and fifty-first installments. Review covers these Magic Tree House titles: High Time for Heroes and Hurry Up, Houdini!

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 American Red Cross founder (and Polacco's ancestor) Clara Barton's childhood is chronicled. Davie protects and teaches his little sister, especially when she's ridiculed for her lisp. But gentle Clara loves and understands nature and becomes recognized as a healer early on. Polacco's sunny illustrations underscore the sibling affection and Clara's compassion; invented dialogue and lack of concrete resources bring into question the sentimental story's validity.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(2) PS On her birthday, Clementine gets a first-aid kit. "You can call me Nurse Clementine from now on!" Her ACE bandages heal everything from headaches to hurt paws. While her parents and dog are willing patients, little brother Tommy is less compliant--until he truly needs her help. James's airy watercolors are loosely and wonderfully drawn, allowing the reader to catch nuances of Clementine's mood.

Reviewer: Robin L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Carlyn Beccia. Alcott's experience as a Civil War nurse is recounted in this candid picture-book biography with realistic, somewhat static digital oil paintings that reflect the hardship and horror of a run-down makeshift hospital. Her own near-death illness provides impetus, following Alcott's long recovery, for her successful writing career, first with the publication of letters before her greatest achievement, Little Women. Reading list, websites.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) K-3 History Makers series. This series of introductory biographies offers very young readers the broad details of these historical figures' lives and impacts. In addition to archival photographs, each simple text is supplemented by a running timeline; although many events on it are not mentioned in the narrative, the format is visually appealing. Overall this series provides decent jumping-off points for further research. Glos., ind. Review covers these History Makers titles: Anne Frank and Her Diary, Florence Nightingale and a New Age of Nursing, Martin Luther King and the Fight for Equality, Nelson Mandela and His Struggle for Freedom, and Winston Churchill and World War II.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Suzanne Beaky. School nurse Penny's three "oh-so-smart students" notice she is not her optimistic, confident self. Their faith in her inspires Penny to hold a school assembly about head lice, at which she shares an awkward secret. While the message about lice infestations is a bit heavy-handed, the bright illustrations and touches of humor convey an upbeat tone. Lice facts are appended.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges