Our memories are short. One of the things we have to do is remember the past, because it teaches us about how far we have come. This picture book of the life of Dr. Sara Josephine Baker reminds us of many things of the past.

It reminds us when it was unusual to have a woman doctor. It was so unusual that Dr. Jo couldn't make it in private practice and had to get a job as a health inspector. But it was while doing this, among the tenements in Hell's Kitchen that she learned of the appalling conditions of the immigrants, all stuff together, and sought to change things.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-652" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-20-at-9.08.07-AM.png" alt="Dr Jo" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-651" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-20-at-9.09.05-AM.png" alt="Dr. Jo" />

Great introduction for kids who want to learn about how things were at the turn of the last century. Good starting point to be interested in famous women's lives.

#Dr.Jo #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Dr. Jo: How Sara Josephine Baker Saved the Lives of America's Children is the story of a courageous and unconventional woman who attended medical school long before it was considered "normal" for women to do so, and who dedicated her life to the vulnerable babies and children living in poverty in New York City.

"Hell's Kitchen" was the name of the neighborhood where she did much of her work in public health. Despite the challenges, Dr. Jo went beyond simply treating patients and tried to come up with big-picture ideas that could help this population in the midst of their poverty -- one of her ideas was to make bottles out of beeswax to help make babies' eye drops safer.

I really appreciated this story of a woman who was ahead of her time and whose compassion drove her to save so many lives. Definitely a great example for girls (and boys) today.
(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Sara Josephine Baker, born in late 1800s, struggled to fit in with expectations for her gender. She was a classic tomboy, preferring to play sports and explore the outdoors.

Jo lost first her brother and then her father to typhoid fever after the local hospital dumped sewage into the river used for drinking water. These losses only further cemented her desire to become a doctor. She was able to accomplish her goal, but when she struggled to keep her practice open, she supplemented her income by also becoming the health inspector in New York City. That work brought her into contact with dangerous conditions in the inner city, and she set about changing the circumstances that led to blindness, contaminated medications/food, even non-sufficient knowledge about infant care.

Dr Jo is written in simple language, but Jo is a notable heroine whose story is worthy of being memorialized, and the accompanying illustrations will draw in readers.

Dr. Jo is a beautifully written and illustrated book that should be included in every school library and read to school children on the accomplishments of women. The book highlights a woman in the 1890’s who wanted to become a doctor, when women doctors were all but non existent. This was the era that studying medicine was not for women and reveals some of the bias that women physicians endured. By the end of her medical career, Dr. Josephine Baker had solved some of the misconceptions and poor practices of immigrant families of taking care of their health. The book states she ”had saved the lives of 90,000 inner-city children across America." This book's text is written in a style that is easily understood and flows well from page to page. The illustrations tend to evoke nostalgic images which depict the time period of the story very well.

Highly recommend this book as a great book for young readers. Five stars!

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for a pre-publication ebook in exchange for an honest review.

As a school librarian I am always looking for nonfiction books that are about women. The book, Dr Jo was written for the lower grades which is sorely lacking in age appropriate gender/racial diversity. It provides a great launching off point for further research on Dr. Jo, importance of sanitation, and maybe more importantly and relevant right now is the the struggle of immigrants. I look forward to adding a library bound book when it's released this fall.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book that highlights one of the most amazing women in history. I have to admit that I knew nothing of Dr. Sara Josephine Baker before reading this book, and I now feel that everyone should know about this woman who became a doctor at a time when most people thought "studying medicine was not for women," and by the end of her medical career, "had saved the lives of 90,000 inner-city children across America." This book's text is nicely worded and flows well from page to page, and I love the nostalgic illustrations which depict the time period of the story very well.

I highly recommend this book for all children, however this is a great book for people of all ages.