Review Detail

Use for Voice is a unique picture book about a patient's self-advocacy to get the correct diagnosis. I am used to reading books that present medical personnel as superheroes and many books explaining a doctor's job so young children feel comfortable and trust their expertise. However, this book takes a different perspective, one where the doctor brushed off the child’s concerns and sent them home with a misdiagnosis. It wasn’t until a different doctor came and the child learned to speak up and demand more tests that a serious condition was discovered.
I have mixed feelings about this book's approach because it is good to make yourself heard until you get help but on the other hand, I don’t know the risk of children reading this and mistrusting doctors when most of the time they will be told good information. There is some attempt to lighten the topic by having imaginary friends from the pain meter stay with the girl and help her learn to speak up until she feels better. There is increasing attention on social media that females are more likely to be dismissed, and their pain not listened to by male doctors which was how this story unfolded so maybe it is good for girls to be ready to advocate for themselves. Overall, this book sheds light on patient advocacy and would spark good discussion afterward.