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Making Medical Information Accessable
Nurse Florence®, Tell Me About the Colon follows three friends who ask the school nurse about the colon, and she explains the parts, functions, and importance of the colon. What challenges did you face when writing this book?
The Nurse Florence® project publishes books as fast as the illustrators can produce drawings so the challenge I deal with is not being able to publish books in the project faster. We are aiming to complete the project of around 500 books in the series by the end of 2029.
With so many topics to cover with Nurse Florence, how do you decide which topic is the next one you will cover?
We partner with illustrators to help decide topics. Since the disease books can be so long, I usually ask the illustrator if there is a disease that affects their family that they want to cover. If not, then we have a master list of diseases that we pick from. Sometimes we pick a disease that is popular in the news at the moment, and every fourth book is a rare disease book so we have a list of those as well that we are going through.
Are there any authors you draw inspiration from?
Anyone that is thorough. I enjoy reading evidence-based research articles regarding health topics.
I have noticed that some of your Nurse Florence books come with a corresponding coloring book. How do you decide which topics will have a companion coloring book?
Companion coloring books are actually the choice of the illustrator. If they choose to take the time to take out the color and send me lined art, then we create coloring books. Over a third of the Nurse Florence® series has been turned into a coloring book edition. We want kids to learn another coping skill of drawing as they learn to relax and find peace.
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Nurse Florence®, Tell Me About the Colon.
Nurse Florence®, Tell Me About the Colon is a charming, educational children’s book that mixes science with everyday curiosity in a simple but effective way. Written by Michael Dow, a nurse with a deep commitment to health literacy, the story follows three young girls, Jean, Sonia, and Condi, who sit down at lunch with Nurse Florence and end up learning all about the colon. Through a calm, friendly conversation, they explore the parts, functions, and importance of the colon, complete with illustrations and gentle scientific explanations.
Author Michael Dow uses real medical terms like “cecum,” “peristalsis,” and “ascending colon,” but makes them easy to understand. Nurse Florence explains the cecum as a kind of one-way gate for food. This kind of clear, relatable comparison makes the science stick. It’s not just a biology lesson, it’s about sparking curiosity and showing that adults can actually explain things in a way that makes sense.
Another strong point is the balance between education and real-life application. It doesn’t just say, “This is what a colon does.” It connects it to healthy habits. The parts where Nurse Florence talks about fiber, hydration, and colonoscopies are handled with such a matter-of-fact tone that it normalizes health care in the best way. I actually found myself thinking, “I need more veggies,” right along with the girls at the end. That’s powerful, when a kids’ book can nudge adults into reconsidering their habits.
The illustrations are clean, approachable, and thoughtfully designed to support the educational content without feeling overly simplistic. While the artistic style leans more toward clarity than creativity, that choice serves the book’s purpose well. What truly impressed me, though, were the detailed visuals of the colon under a microscope and the diagram explaining peristalsis. These images offer a striking and memorable glimpse into real biology, adding a sense of wonder that brings the science to life. It’s the kind of visual element that could easily spark genuine excitement in young readers, encouraging them to see science as both fascinating and accessible.
Nurse Florence®, Tell Me About the Colon is perfect for parents, teachers, or caregivers who want to sneak a little real science into story time. It’s great for curious kids who ask “why” a lot and for grown-ups who sometimes forget the answers. If you’ve got a budding doctor or biologist in the house, or even just a kid who isn’t afraid of learning big words, Nurse Florence® is a warm and clever way to start talking about the human body.
Pages: 70 | ISBN : 1304397289
LITERARY TITAN 