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THIS IS A HOSPITAL, NOT A ZOO!

by Roberta Karim
illustrated by Sue Truesdell
Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin

ISBN 978-395-720998
ISBN-10: 0618246223
ISBN-13: 978-0618246229

Roberta Karim has created a hilarious animal tale that captures the wishes of every child who has ever spent time in a hospital. Filbert MacFee’s adventures will ease fears about a visit to the hospital and have young readers and their parents laughing out loud.

Filbert MacFee is having a lively time in the hospital. When Nurse Skeeter is ready to give him a shot, he turns into a thick-skinned rhinoceros. In an ice-cold wheelchair headed for X-ray, he becomes a penguin. Bad-tasting medicine, and Filbert changes into a ... ?

No-nonsense Nurse Beluga and her staff do their best to cure Filbert of his animal transformations. Good news comes at last -- Dr. Kebob! Once the doctor stops being an orangutan, he gives Filbert the perfect diagnosis: "You may go home!"

Rollicking verse, a quirky cast of characters, and Sue Truesdell's zany drawings turn a hospital stay into a reassuringly comic escapade.

Author Roberta Karim created nutty Filbert during her son's hospital stay.

PRINT HISTORY

Now a KINDLE eBOOK at amazon.com!

Hardcover, Paperback, School & Library Binding

Audio Tape by Recorded Books Inc.
ISBN 0-7887-2063-5
Narrated by John McDonough, the new Captain Kangaroo

Library Storytime STAR Reading Kits by International Playthings:
"Hospital" & "Little Doctor" Kits

Reviews

  • KIRKUS

    "A perfectly silly take on the indignities of a hospital stay . . . The snappy text, featuring quirky characters and understated humor, works well with Truesdell's loosely drawn, larger-than-life animals who pop up at the turn of a page."

  • ALA BOOKLIST

    "Karim's goofy, fantastical story has sweet charm, and is a great vehicle for Truesdell's funny irresistible artwork, which pictures animals and humans alike leaping and cavorting across the pages."

  • KLIATT'S Audio Tape Review

    "When John McDonough’s richly comic narration is paired with the lively text, the combination is a dose of pure fun. McDonough's inflections are lively and spirited, his tone matches the story’s wit, and his voices are perfect.”

Recommendations

  • CHILD LIFE COUNCIL: RESOURCE LIBRARY

    CLC serves 4000 child life professionals in 600 organizations worldwide (including hospital administrators and staff) as they empower children and families to master the stress and trauma of challenging life events.

  • SPEECH SOUNDS: A GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND PROFESSIONALS

  • CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLORADO

    “Going to the hospital – or even the doctor’s office or dentist – can be scary for anyone, especially kids. One of the best ways to prepare them for their visit is to talk about it in advance. Reading a book about visiting the doctor can be a great way to open a dialogue with your child. The following are some of The Children’s Hospital Colorado doctors’ and nurses’ favorite books: THIS IS A HOSPITAL, NOT A ZOO!" and others.

  • PEDIATRIC HOSPITALS NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING

    Cleveland Clinic (OH) "Books For Kids"

    Cincinnati Children's Hospital (OH)

    Children's National Medical Center, Washington D.C.

    Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (NH)

    Children's Hospital Boston (MA)

    Baystate Children's Hospital (Springfield MA)

    Upstate Golisana Children's Hospital (Syracuse NY)

    Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital (New Brunswick NJ)

    Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital (Concord NC)

    Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt (Nashville TN)

    Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (PA)

    St. John's Children's Hospital (Springfield IL)

    Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

    Children's Hospital Colorado

    Renown Children's Hospital (Reno NV)

    Mary Bridge Children's Hospital (Tacoma WA)

Meet the Illustrator

Sue Truesdell has illustrated numerous children's books, including:
  • Picture books such as THIS IS A HOSPITAL, NOT A ZOO! (Roberta Karim), NUGGET AND DARLING (Barbara M. Joosse), and HOW TO TALK TO YOUR DOG (Jean Craighead George)
  • HarperCollins I Can Read! series about the GOLLY SISTERS (Betsy Byars) and ADDIE (Joan Robins)
  • Chapter book series about WILD WILLIE (Barbara M. Joosse)

Ms. Truesdell lives in New Jersey

More Reviews

KIRKUS REVIEWS
“A perfectly silly take on the indignities of a hospital stay.  Armed with a box of magical animal crackers, Filbert MacFee has the perfect defense against all the pricks and pokes: he can turn into whatever animals he eats.  Threatened by a hypodermic needle, he turn into a rhinoceros who says, ‘Try to put a needle through that!’  A penguin is appropriate for a frigid wheelchair and it's hard to get a spoonful of medicine into the mouth of a giraffe.

Filbert keeps the staff hopping with his pranks, and things really get wild when in the guise of an unhappy orangutan he offers an animal cracker to his doctor, who turns into an orangutan, too.  The two enjoy a rousing rumpus until (back to himself), Filbert is pronounced well enough to go home.  The snappy text, featuring quirky characters and understated humor, works well with Truesdell's loosely drawn, larger-than-life animals who pop up at the turn of a page.”
ALA BOOKLIST
“Filbert MacFee loves the magical animal crackers he receives as a gift in the hospital. They seem to come in particularly handy when it's time for Nurse Beluga and her staff to poke and prod: it's tough to treat a boy who has turned into a rhino, a penguin, or a giraffe. Karim's goofy, fantastical story has sweet charm … and is a great vehicle for Truesdell's funny, irresistible artwork, which pictures animals and humans alike leaping and cavorting across the pages.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
“This amusing story begins with a trumpeting delivery man loudly taking a package to Filbert MacFee, who is in the hospital. The boy is frustrated because he wants to go home and the nurses say he must stay a little longer. When the box arrives with magic animal crackers inside, he eats one and changes into a rhino when it is time for a shot. Further appropriate transformations follow until kindly Doctor Kebob decides that his patient is homesick and just needs to be released. The pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoons are amusing. Good solid entertainment.”
PEDIATRICIAN BLOG BY DR. ALICE - JAN 2011 - “Supratentorial”
“Filbert MacFee is in the hospital and is brought a package of animal crackers. The crackers cause him to turn into various animals, typically when something is going to happen that he doesn’t like. Most of the staff is unsure of what to do with a penguin or rhino instead of a boy, but not Nurse Beluga, who informs him over and over that, “This is a hospital, not a zoo!” The repetition is perfect for preschoolers. It’s a delightfully silly book and both my boys loved it.

On a more serious note, I actually thought this book probably dealt in a more subtle and somewhat sophisticated way with kids’ fears about hospitals and medical procedures than some of the other hospital books, and by using humor it helped calm some of those fears. I loved that it’s not entirely clear if Filbert really turns into those animals or just pretends. And if Nurse Beluga is really just unflappable even when faced with a giraffe patient or if she is playing along to help Filbert. It doesn’t really matter. It’s a fun book.”
AMAZON REVIEWERS

“A book filled with outloud chuckles!”

“I have an almost-three year old and we found this story at the library and she LOVES it!  Our daily story times are wonderful and only two days after getting the book, she can predict which animal is next and loves to repeat Nurse Beluga's phrase, "This is a hospital, not a zoo!"  It's a great story for adventure and whimsy, even if you do not have a child in the hospital to worry about.”  5 out of 5 stars.”

“Hospital silliness for your kids:”

“Being in a hospital is tough for a child.  This book puts a wonderful twist on hospital stays.  A well written, wonderfully illustrated book.  Highly recommended.”  5 out of 5 stars.”