A visit to the dentist never seemed as appealing when I was a child! (Usborne First Experiences: Going to the Dentist - Anne Civardi)

Member Name: karlsm93

Product:	Usborne First Experiences: Going to the Dentist - Anne Civardi
Date:	14/02/09 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great illustrations, great detail, great series!

Disadvantages: None

I work as a primary school teacher and I am always on the hunt for second hand books that I can keep permanently in my classroom, especially those which are related to class topics.

I have been a big fan of these Usbourne First Experiences book since coming across a few of these in our school library. There is a range of book in this series such as: Going to the hospital, The New baby, Going to the doctor, Going on a plane and Moving House.

I picked up this book 'Going to the dentist' for 20p in my local Oxfam and it was in perfect condition. Although its RRP is £3.99 you can purchase this book on Amazon for £1.50.

What you first notice about these books when you flick through them are the excellent illustrations by Stephen Cartwright. There is no doubt that these bring the story and explanations to life for the children who read them.

This book follows the Judd family as they prepare to go for a check up at the dentist. The family consists of two children, a boy and a girl, their dog and Mum and Dad.

The story takes you through the different stages of a visit to your dentist including: sitting in the waiting room, meeting the dental nurse and dentist, the special dentist chair and how the dentist checks your teeth.

It continues with one of the children having to get a filling and thus the dentist having to give the child an injection to numb the tooth.

The book finishes with the dentist explaining to the children how to look after their teeth by cleaning them correctly and eating the right foods.

There are several key reasons why I love these books.

* The author Anne Civardi uses everyday language, but most importantly the vocabulary that children will come across when they are at the dentist like: appointment, check up, mask, injection, toothache, filling, suction pipeflouride etc etc.
So as a teacher this can play a vital role in introducing some of this key vocabularly to young children in a very visual realistic way.

* In a very simplistic way the story takes you through the various stages of a visit to the dentist, many of which we take for granted as adults, but something that very young children may never have experienced, and therefore helps them to understand beforehand some of the things they might encounter on a visit, and can help take away any fear they might have of this unknown. No stage is left out, but equally the author does not labour over a particular event.

*The characters of the books appeal to children because they seem like a real family, and children can relate to this.

* The book provides plenty of opportunites for either a parent or teacher to ask leading questions to get children thinking about such an experience.
A very basic example of this is:
'The dentist is very busy. There are lots of people waiting to see him.'
Children can think about how they should behave in a waiting room and what they could do to pass the time.

Overall, as a parent or teacher this book, and in fact others in the series are great additions to any children's book collection. They are particulary useful for young children between the ages of 3-7 especially when they are continually having new and sometimes daunting first time experiences, of which we as adults take for granted and rarely think about. As a teacher they are a great aid for topic work on 'People who help us' and also lets children explore the idea of what a dentist and dental nurse does. An excellent resource!

Summary: An excellent resource for parents or teachers