Books About Surgery
This is a category that I have wanted to include for a while, but honestly, it was hard to find books that I liked. No book is perfect, but the books I am sharing today explain common experiences and concerns. They also all explain things in simple language, giving caregivers the words to talk through the steps.
If your child is having surgery in a children's hospital, there is likely a child life department that you can reach out to for more information. Some children's hospital have information about surgery on their website and some have YouTube videos to prepare kids. So check those out! BUT, many children are having surgery at surgery centers that are not attached to a children's hospital. As an adult, reading one of these books prior to your call with your pre-op nurse, can remind you of some of things that your child might experience and help you ask better questions.
Also, you know your child best. So if you feel like one of these books might make them more nervous, you can wait and read it to them the day of surgery or follow up and read it together after surgery. This can help them understand and feel more confident in future medical interactions.
Lastly, if your child watches a video to prepare them for surgery (either on YouTube or Daniel Tiger), I highly recommend following up by reading a book or having a thorough conversation. When videos give information, they do not have a way to make sure the child understands, move at their pace, or answer questions. Only a book or a good conversation with a parent can do that!
Magic Air: Ten Kid-Sized Steps to Surgery by Alana Smith
This book is another book that prepares kids for what to expect when having surgery. This book specifically covers falling asleep via mask. So if there is a chance that your child will receive anesthesia via IV this book would not prepare them for that experience. In general, this book does a good job of talking about various parts of the day in reassuring words that kids can understand. This book would be good for kids prior to or after surgery and is best for preschool through middle elementary.
https://amzn.to/4q1HnLq
Getting Ready for My Surgery by Dr. Fei Zheng-Ward
This book was written by a doctor as a way to prepare a child for surgery. The book talks about the surgery process focusing on the different things the child will likely experience. The book is written in simple and easy to understand language and takes kids through many parts of the experience. The book encourages children to participate in their healthcare by having them write down their questions and indicate things like what color IV they got. There is a part where the author asks the child to choose what they want their anesthesia to smell like, which could be misleading as hospitals would not be able to match those requests. If you have a child that has lots of questions about what their day will be like, this book gives a fairly accurate and easy to understand representation. This book would be good for preschool-school age.
https://amzn.to/4q6l6wf
Surgery on Sunday by Kat Harrison
This book tells the story of a girl who needs to have surgery and spend the night in the hospital to fix her ear drum. The girl feels anxious, but her grownups help her feel brave. She brings her stuffed octopus along and the story takes you through the different parts of her day including getting an IV and going to the OR to breathe through a mask. Some of the details of the book could be different from your child’s experience so it would be good to clarify these things with your child if you are reading it before their surgery. (Many children don’t get their IV until after they are asleep.) It could be a great book to read with them after their surgery to help them process. The girl in the story comes up with her rules for surgery. It could be fun to have your child come up with their own “rules for surgery” following their experience. This book would be great for school age children.
https://amzn.to/4p6Oku5
Daniel Goes to the Hospital -PBS Kids
This book is available as a free printable at PBSKids.org. The book takes kids through the steps of what happens to Daniel Tiger when he goes to the hospital to have surgery on his ears. This would be good for young children and pairs with the Daniel Tiger episode as well. If your child watches the episode, going through the family book with them would give them a chance to share feelings and ask questions. This book gives limited information and would be best for young children, ages 2-4.
