Page 74 - Reader's HouseMagazine - Issue 62

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Michael Dow is a brilliant visionary whose dedication to accessible science is empowering the next generation of curious young minds.
Clear, engaging, and educational—this book makes science fun, understandable, and inspiring for children, nurturing curiosity and future
learning.
Nurse Florence, H ow DoWe Smell Things? is an engaging and informa- tive book that explains complex sci- entific concepts in a way young chil- dren can easily understand. Michael Dow and Iris Serrano have created a resource that introduces correct medical terminology while keeping the content fun and approachable. The book not only sparks curiosi- ty about the human body but also encourages early interest in science, technology, engineering, and math- ematics. It is an excellent tool for parents and educators aiming to improve children’s health literacy and inspire future scientists.
How did your experiences in the military influence your approach to writing
If people are taught the correct words and ideas from an early age, then they will grow in confidence in the subject matter and feel empowered in their understanding. When
ic. My young kids had to tran-
sition to online learning like
most kids around the world,
and I was concerned about the
quality of their education that
they were going to get for the
next couple of years. I love
science and want my kids to
learn to love science too. I
thought, “What if I wrote a kids science book and my kids would have to read it since dad wrote it.” I was finishing up nursing school and decided to title the series after the great Florence Nightingale. I worked with my niece to have her draw the illustrations and Nurse Florence, Help I’m Bleeding was produced. I thought it was a good book and deserved some recognition, so I submitted it for some book awards, and it won a Nautilus Silver Book Award. I then realized I may have a skill to bring science information down to an elementary school level, so I began recruiting other illustrators
to help me and now there are over 180 illustrators working on the project with a new book published about every 5 days.
In what ways has your work as a psychiatric nurse shaped the themes or purpose of your books?
bring kindness into every Nurse Florence® book to empower kids to reach out to trusted health professionals, so they better understand their body. Also, I started a second book series titled Nurse Dorothea® after Dorothea Dix, a champion for mental health patients in the 1800s. This series explores mental illness as well as mental health topics such as coping skills and many more subjects. More information can be found at www.nursedorothea.com.
Why do you believe it is important to introduce medical terminology and science concepts to children at an early age?
“My time in the USAF helped me
recognise the importance of standardisation and attention to detail.”
One of the basics a psychiatric nurse should be accomplished in is ther- apeutic communication. I
74 II Reader’s House
“I love science and want my kids to learn
to love science too.”
and storytelling?
I was a human anatomy lab assistant, one older student came through the class, and I asked if she was going back to school for another degree. She said she was an elementary Physical Education teacher
My time in the USAF helped me recog- nize the importance of standardization and attention to detail. Most of the books have a similar scenario where the three girls meet with the nurse in the school cafeteria and the nurse uses her smartphone to show images of science from the internet. The book covers are standardized too. My time in the military also helped me learn concise speech from talking on military radio channels. The information I present is short and simple, but still using complex words at times so that accurate science information is presented. One of our trademark slogans for the books is “Introducing Some Medical Words to Kids in Every Books.”
at one of the prestigious schools in the
city. She said that all of her students knew the scientific names of the muscles they were exercising and for her to teach at that school, she needed to become an expert on the human body. This school was known
to produce a lot of students that went on to become Physicians. By introducing young kids to correct terminology and science con- cepts at an early age, we can help increase our children’s health literacy level as well as help to prepare them for courses and jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We need more scientists so I hope that many children will enjoy Nurse Flor- ence® and consider a job involving science.
T