Title: The Doll Hospital
Author: Kallie George
Illustrator: Sara Gillingham
Age Group: 3-6
Synopsis: Dr. Pegs’ to-do list starts piling up. How will she get everything done in time?
The Lowdown:
There are moments when books seem to mirror life. As if they were written exactly to help explain a concept to Bug or remind us of an important message applicable to our lives now. That’s exactly what happened with The Doll Hospital recently. Unfortunately, I ended up with a few health issues this month, that led us to the hospital. However, luckily, Bug went from being worried and scared to understanding and calm once we likened the experience to going to the Doll Hospital. It actually backfired a bit when he got upset that he couldn’t stay the night too. On the other side of the hospital stay, I went into a frazzled state of franticness, as I was very limited in what I could do physically and had guests coming to stay with us. This was a perfect time to discuss priorities and the importance of asking for help. These are topics that The Doll Hospital does an AMAZING job with and a message I constantly need to be reminded about. 
When we meet Dr. Pegs the hospital is empty. All she has on her checklist is to sort the buttons. However, moments later the emergency bell begins ringing and the buttons become the least of her worries. One after another, the patients begin entering the hospital until Pegs is overwhelmed. Luckily there’s a procedure in place for just such an event. Pegs rings a special bell and she gets some much needed help from five nurses which take the form of nesting dolls. Together they are able to take care of the patients and set the hospital to rights. I love how Pegs doesn’t take care of all of these items on her own, how she asks for help, and then so graciously thanks the nurses at the end.
Using very basic, simplistic shapes, Gillingham delivers a sweetness to her characters enhanced with the use of vibrant pastels. Her dolls maintain a retro, vintage feel that allows them to be instantly recognizable. Bug also loved comparing the toys in the book to ones he has himself. Gillingham taps into her inner child by using scraps of cloth to make up the beds in the hospital instead of miniaturized real beds. The effect is one that makes the book so much more relateable for anyone who has ever played dolls or used their imagination to create furniture for their toys. It has led Bug to start preforming check ups on his toys. Unfortunately, we seem to have an epidemic in the house and they’ve all been admitted for further observation.
As sweet as the story is though, the real worth of it was revealed between my post-hospital stay and pre-guest frenzy. As I became ever more frustrated as the list of things needing to be done piled up, my temper began to fray and I started snapping. Bug stopped me and said, “Mommy, you should just ask for some help like Dr. Pegs does.” It’s moments of clarity like that, where I hope he doesn’t inherit the insanity from me but instead follows the examples set out for him in the books. It’s also a perfect reminder of how I should strive to deal with adversity and the ever-wise advice that it doesn’t hurt to ask for help.
Story Tips:
- The book does a great job of exhibiting how to make a list. Have your little ones guess what will be added to the list next.
- Because there is a lovely amount of repetition in the book, it’s great for emerging readers. Have your little one help finish sentences or guess what’s going to be said next.
- Make your own peg dolls to accompany the story using: pegs, pipe cleaners, yarn, felt, buttons, and of course your imagination!
I need more!
We loved Kallie George’s Secrets I Know. Check out our review there for more about her previous works.
Sara Gillingham authored and illustrated Love is a Truck for more about her please see that review.
