<i>A Day in the Office of Doctor Bugspit</i> (review)
2012; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 65; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2012.0042
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Empathy and Medical Education
ResumoReviewed by: A Day in the Office of Doctor Bugspit Jeannette Hulick Gravel, Elise. A Day in the Office of Doctor Bugspit; written and illus. by Elise Gravel. Blue Apple, 2011. 34p. (Balloon Toons) Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-60905-092-4 $10.99 Paper ed. ISBN 978-1-60905-182-2 $4.99 R Gr. 2–4. Despite his assurance that “I have cures for every ailment in the galaxy, even ones that don’t exist yet,” the alien Dr. Bugspit (“the galaxy’s Number 1 doctor”) has more in common with a patent-medicine con man than a bona fide physician. [End Page 255] After diagnosing a cowboy hat-wearing patient as having “split-brain-o-sis” (his hat has split his brain in two, causing him to repeat everything twice), Dr. Bugspit blithely sends him away with some “Fix-It-Up” syrup (ingredients include dead flies and earwax) and a jester hat, exclaiming, “I don’t know if he’ll get better, but this was fun. This was fun.” Along with the slightly severe Nurse Giggles and his vaguely piggish assistant, Googoo, Dr. Bugspit continues his day: seeing (but not necessarily helping) patients, napping, doing some nose and eyebrow exercises, and eating lunch (a slug slime and glow-in-the-dark jelly sandwich). About as nutritious (and delicious) as a jumbo bag of Skittles, this unabashedly goofy combination of picture book and junior graphic novel will draw in many a reluctant reader with its wacky sensibility and mild grossness. Although the book is quite accessible and enjoyable as a readalone title, the hilarious absurdity (“I keep these toy monkeys in my desk. I play with them while waiting for patients. Hello, my two little chubba-woo-hahs!”) makes this also well-suited for reading aloud or perhaps even performing. The black-outlined, cartoonish art is amusing as well, with the long-nosed, salmon pink, and frequently pop-eyed Dr. Bugspit grinning and cavorting his way across mostly white pages splashed with electric red, chartreuse, and sky blue. Adults would be well advised to get this doctor in the house. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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