I Don't Want to Go to the Hospital! by Tony Ross -- OPTIONAL

Ross, Tony I Don't Want to Go to the Hospital!: A Little Princess Story. 32 pgs. Andersen Press, 2013. $16.95. PICTURE BOOK. The little princess has a lump inside her nose. When she learns she has to go to the hospital to have it removed, she has an absolute fit and refuses, even when bribed with candy and toys. Everyone in the castle pleads with her to please, please let them take her. Ultimately, they have to tie her to a stroller and all march there together. However, when the little princess returns home and discovers she has to do chores again, she immediately decides she wants to go back to the hospital because, as she says, they treated her like a princess in there.

This book addresses an important topic, and while the Little Princess's anti-hospital stance is initially worrisome, she does come around to enjoying it and wanting to go back, which gives hospitals a positive spin. Unfortunately, the princess is so spoiled, obnoxious, and bratty, and everyone in the castle is so under her thumb, that it is difficult to like her or see her as any sort of role model. It's clear who's in charge here, and it's not the adults. In addition, I admit to having difficulty wrapping my head around some of the illustrations. Trying to figure out, for example, why the doctor had mysterious red spots everywhere or why the queen looked frumpy and decidedly unroyal, ended up being a huge distraction from the story itself. Pre-K, EL (K-3) -- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by: Caryn