The DO Book Club, Oct. 2026: Great children’s books about health and medicine

As a proud aunt to kids both related to me and not, I always love an opportunity read with a tiny friend and share my passion for books, which I have enjoyed deeply since my own childhood.

I am often on the hunt for well-written children’s books that share important information in an engaging way and have positive takeaways. I recently came across a book that hits all of these notes: “Inside Your Outside: All About the Human Body” by Tish Rabe.

“Inside Your Outside” comes from The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, a series of educational nonfiction books for beginning readers. The books are set in the Dr. Seuss world and written in the classic Seussian rhyming style. “Inside Your Outside” provides a comprehensive overview of the human body via a story that kids ages 5-10 can relate to and understand.

My personal favorite line was on page 10, when talking about the brain; the book lets kids know that “it sends information to all parts of you and does millions of things no computer can do!” Living in an increasingly technological world, it’s extra important to let future generations know our brains are limitless.

A curated list of kids’ books about health and medicine

I worked with The DO Editor-in-Chief Vania Manipod, DO, and The DO staff to come up with the below list of recommended children’ s books about health and medicine. We focused on books for children ages 10 and younger, though many of these reads will also be enjoyable for adults and older kids who are reading to young children.

Whether you are interested in helping a child work through big feelings, think critically about screen time or become comfortable with the process of receiving medical care, the books below offer something for everyone.

Happy reading, and please let us know in the comments below what your own favorite is!

‘Hi Screen! Bye Screen!’ written by Marie Truong, DO

Recommended by: Vania Manipod, DO, Editor-In-Chief of The DO

As a psychiatrist and parent, I’m always on the lookout for tools that help families navigate the real challenge of screen time. Not with shame or alarm, but with language young children can actually understand. Published in 2024, “Hi Screen! Bye Screen!” does exactly that.

Marie Truong, DO, is a child and adolescent psychiatrist whose clinical background is evident throughout the book. She follows a young child through an ordinary day, tracing how thoughts of devices and their associated games, videos and apps linger even when screens are out of reach: at school, at bedtime, upon waking.

It’s an accurate depiction of how digital content is designed to stay on our minds and Dr. Truong translates this neurological reality into something a 5+ year old can recognize in themselves without feeling pathologized.

What works particularly well is the book’s attention to the emotional dimension of screen use. Rather than framing devices as simply “bad,” it acknowledges that screens change our mood and can heighten anxiety, a nuance that is often missing from conversations aimed at this age group.

The solutions the book offers are practical and parent-focused: model putting your phone away at dinner, encourage interactions and outdoor activities and trust that with consistency, children will begin to reach for non-screen activities on their own.

Reading the book, it occurred to me that a page addressing the inevitable pushback when devices are taken away might have strengthened the book further, normalizing that resistance is part of the process rather than a sign of failure. That said, this may be beyond the developmental scope of the intended audience and the core messages land with clarity and warmth regardless.

For physicians and medical students who counsel families on screen use, or who are navigating these questions as parents themselves, “Hi Screen! Bye Screen!” is a useful addition to the conversation.

‘The Mütter Museum: A Junior Guide’s Tour of America’s Coolest Medical Museum!’ written by Anna Dhody, illustrated by Ted Enik and R.A. Herrera

Recommended by: Rose Raymond, AOA content lead

Take an enjoyable, educational journey through the Mütter Museum’s collection with A.J., a child tour guide, in this beautifully illustrated book. Published in 2020, the book was written by Anna Dhody, who was the museum’s curator at the time.

Located in Philadelphia, the Mütter Museum is the world’s most well-known medical museum; its collection includes over 25,000 different skeletons, wet specimens, wax models, instruments and so on.

In the book, A.J. takes us on a respectful and child-appropriate tour of the museum’s most notable items, including slides of Albert Einstein’s brain, skeletons of all sizes, conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker’s plaster casts and a megacolon. After each item is visited, A.J. summons an apparition of the person connected to it as they would have appeared while still living. At the end of the book, the museum is seemingly filled with the “ghosts” of its collection.

My 8-year-old, Dakota, loved this book and read it over and over. She says her favorite parts were the “ghosts” and learning about different conditions that affect the skeleton. She has not visited the Mütter in real life yet, but I am hoping to take her there at some point.

Following the illustrated tour section of the book, there is a section with photographs of the highlighted items and longer but still kid-appropriate descriptions of them.

‘Everyone Feels Anxious Sometimes,’ ‘Everyone Feels Sad Sometimes,’ and ‘Everyone Feels Angry Sometimes,’ written by Daniela Owen, PhD, illustrated by Gülce Baycik

Recommended by: Rose Raymond, AOA content lead

Helping young children understand and manage big feelings is one of the most important—and hardest—parts of being a parent. In 2021, clinical psychologist Daniela Owen, PhD, published a three-book series of picture books for children on anxiety, sadness and anger.

On Goodreads, the sadness and anxiety books are listed as being for ages 3-10, while the anger book is recommended for ages 3-8. My mother got these books for my daughter when she was 4 and struggling to adjust to a new preschool. She enjoyed the books’ illustrations and the messaging, and even used some of the practical tips provided (when prompted by mom, dad or grandma) to calm herself down when she was upset.

Each book begins by walking the reader through what the emotion is, what it feels like in your body and mind, and what commonly causes the emotion in young children. Then the books explain that the emotion is normal and OK to feel and that everyone feels this way sometimes. Next, each book shares practical tips young readers can employ to manage the emotion.

For instance, the anger book compares anger to a volcano that can erupt when we get very upset. It then explains that we can calm down by noticing we are getting angry, taking 10 steps away from the situation, taking 10 slow, deep breaths and moving our bodies to release our anger.

I highly recommend these books for all young children. After reading them again to write this review, I am planning to share them again with my 8-year-old, who might not remember reading them four years ago, and to introduce them to my 3-year-old son.

‘Inside Your Outside: All About the Human Body’ written by Tish Rabe, illustrated by Aristides Ruiz

Recommended by: Alexa Wilkerson, AOA editorial specialist

We’re all familiar with Dr. Seuss—so many of us have grown up reading titles such as “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!,” “The Cat and the Hat” and “The Lorax.” A similar tone, style and colorful characters show up in each of his books, creating a world most of us know and love.

With that in mind, it was a brilliant idea to develop The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, a 44-book series (currently) of nonfiction books for kids set in Dr. Seuss’s world and style.

As kids grow up and learn more about themselves and the world around them, they inevitably have questions—why does my body move like this? How much will I continue to grow? Published in 2003, “Inside Your Outside” uses an “Inside-Your-Outside Machine” to take a look at brains, bones, nerves and muscles, teaching readers how these work and connect together.

This book aims to provide “important basic concepts about the natural world” and provides a helpful index and a useful glossary. Along with being informative, this read made me smile. Did you know one ear bone is the size of just one grain of rice? I sure didn’t!

Growing up as a kid can be so confusing, especially when it feels like everyone around you knows so much that you don’t know about your own body. “Inside Your Outside” makes these concepts easier to comprehend and makes learning a fun adventure.

‘Hospital Friends,’ written and illustrated by Mike Berenstain

Recommended by: Alexa Wilkerson, AOA editorial specialist

While doctor offices can be intimidating to young kids, hospitals can be even more so, as they tend to be filled with unfamiliar people, noises and equipment.

“Hospital Friends,” a 2015 book in ‘The Berenstain Bears’ series, aims to ease worries by teaching kids how doctors and nurses are there to help you and keep you healthy—our “hospital friends.”

As the Berenstain family visits cousin Fred after his tonsils are taken out, they learn about how the hospital works and are shown various rooms such as where “cubs” (child patients) stay during longer visits. Dr. Grizzly, their family doctor, shows them how things like physical therapy and X-rays help doctors do their job in healing cubs.

As a ’90s kid, I grew up reading a lot of the Berenstain Bears books, and I think it’s a series that often holds up—and this book is definitely one that does. It was informative in a kid-friendly way, and the accompanying colorful pictures made the medical-related pages feel less scary and more educational.

Since it’s not always possible for real-life children to get a hospital tour like this, this book is a helpful tool in breaking down what it really looks like to work in the healthcare field. I especially recommend this for kids of a parent working in a hospital themselves—seeing what Mom or Dad get up to while they’re at work will give them an idea of how they help us all.

“When I See You,” by Mide Adeleye, MD, and Bria Jackson

Recommended by: Katie Arvia, AOA digital content specialist

Let’s face it: For a lot of kids, a trip to the doctor’s office is about as appealing as a plate of broccoli. But as young readers follow along on Nia’s visit to the emergency room, “When I See You” by Mide Adeleye, MD, and Bria Jackson turns that narrative completely on its head, reframing the healthcare experience into an adventure of comfort, discovery and empowerment.

Published in 2022, “When I See You” begins when 7-year-old Nia finds herself facing every kid’s (and parent’s) worse-case scenario: an unexpected trip to the hospital after spraining her ankle. Though initially hesitant and scared, Nia’s story captures how an overwhelming and frightening medical setting can transform when a child receives empathy and clear guidance.

During her visit, Nia meets Dr. Adeleye, a character based on the real Dr. Adeleye, an emergency medicine physician in Texas. Like Nia, Dr. Adeleye is Black and female. Dr. Adeleye offers to show Nia around the hospital, teaching her about different areas like the imaging room and lab, and explains why some people may need to come to the emergency room.

Dr. Adeleye’s kindness helps Nia feel seen, safe and understood, emotions that all patients deserve to experience in any healthcare setting. Through clear communication, Nia’s parents also receive a plan to help their daughter heal.

Beyond making medicine more accessible, “When I See You” also instills a powerful underlying message. Written and inspired by Black women in medicine, Dr. Adeleye and Jackson set out to educate young readers, especially Black girls, and encourage them to “see themselves in the fields they want to be in.” (p. 5)

In real life, Dr. Adeleye takes every opportunity she can to “show kids that medicine is a cool career and one that needs so many different faces and experiences,” (p. 3) as shared in her “About the Author” introductory page. In fact, the story ends with Nia feeling encouraged and uplifted by the fictional Dr. Adeleye. Nia says, “When I see you, I see myself! I can’t wait to be a doctor one day.” (p. 30)

Inspiring the next generation of healthcare professionals often starts long before medical school. Sometimes, it begins with a single, meaningful visit to the doctor.

Whether you’re reading at home with a little one or looking to stock your office shelves, “When I See You” is a delightful and moving read that reminds us why representation and compassion matter so much in medicine.

Related reading:

The DO Book Club, Aug. 2026: ‘A Month in the Country’

The DO Book Club, Sept. 2026: ‘Let Me Lead: Escaping The Experience Bias And Excelling As An Early-Career Professional’