Checkups, Shots, and Robots - by David Rickert (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Comic-format stories explore the origins and histories of medicine and medical breakthroughs from ancient herbal remedies to modern vaccines, with activities guiding readers in researching more medical history and how to draw comics"--

Book Synopsis

Why do I have to get a checkup? My head hurts--make it better! Kids can explore the science and history behind common medical practices and procedures and learn about health problems, treatments, and medical breakthroughs in this funny and educational graphic-format nonfiction book.

Common childhood illnesses and injuries and the methods to cure or treat them can lead to questions. This book offers answers, showing how people learned how to understand and care for the human body, from ancient times to the present day. Young readers will travel back in time--sometimes thousands of years--to cultures all over the globe to learn how and why medical breakthroughs occurred. They'll meet key people from medical history along the way, including early surgeons working without anesthesia and grave robbers seeking knowledge of human anatomy. The science behind antibiotics and how stitches work are two of many topics in this fascinating book, which includes projects and activities for both the classroom and home.

Review Quotes

2025 Kansas NEA Reading Circle List

"Rickert (Pizza, Pickles, and Apple Pie) offers an antidote to skepticism and misinformation surrounding medical science in this high-energy, occasionally irreverent comics-style work...The author doesn't shy away from depicting incidents of questionable or alarming medical ethics, bias, and unintended consequences, particularly involving the care of people of color. Still, readers will come away feeling that, when it comes to medical innovation, they're standing on the shoulders of giants. Lively back matter includes how Rickert rendered historical figures and instructions on researching and creating one's own comic." --Publishers Weekly

"The humor woven throughout, such as illustrations of Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur arguing over who created the best vaccine, lighten the overall tone...A survey of medical technology and practices that will appeal to graphic novel readers, students who ­enjoy the gross and bloody, and STEM ­enthusiasts." --School Library Journal

About the Author

David Rickert is an educator, author and illustrator of comics, and the creator of Pizza, Pickles, and Apple Pie. After receiving his teaching degree from Ohio State University, David had an itch to create comics for education. Working with the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace, teachers around the world have embraced his comics as an effective way to teach English to young readers.