Little Matilda Goes to Hospital by Caz Goodwin, illustrated by Shaney Hyde

Title: Little Matilda Goes to Hospital

Author: Caz Goodwin, illustrated by Shaney Hyde

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Martin Cavendish

Published: 31^st October 2022

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $15.99

Synopsis: Little Matilda is not feeling well. But she is worried about going to hospital for the first time. Will she be able to overcome her fears and get the care she needs?

A gentle and affirming story about being brave and the magic of kindness.

This gentle and affirming story deals with the very real problem of fears and worries in children. It provides opportunities to talk about these fears and allows children to recognise that they are not alone in their anxieties and worries.

Little Matilda is anxious about going to hospital to be treated. But as she bravely faces her fears, she also helps a scared new friend.

Key Selling Points

• In a light-hearted way, this story examines a common but potentially worrying experience for young children – going to hospital. It provides a gentle source of information to help children and process the emotions and fears that may be associated with medical treatment.
• The animal characters, including the hospital staff, are appealing and non-threatening, and easy for young children to relate to.
• The main character, Little Matilda, is an excellent role model for young children. Despite her anxiety about being in hospital, she demonstrates courage and bravery, and helps to comfort a new friend who is also scared.
• Provides opportunities to explore and discuss important issues such as overcoming everyday challenges in a fun way.
• The rhyme and rhythm of the text flow easily and will appeal to children and encourage their acquisition of language.

~*~

Poor Little Matilda is sick, and she can’t go out and play with her friends. The pink galahs notice and get together and take her to the hospital. She’s tucked up in bed and treated for asthma. She’s worried about staying there alone, but so are the other patients, especially one little dog who has hurt his paw, and is very lonely and sad. Little Matilda must push through her anxiety and worry to help her new friend and comfort him during their hospital stay, so they both feel better about being in hospital.

The Little Matilda stories are great to help kids understand their feelings of worry and anxiety, and come to know that they are not alone, and they are going through the same things as many people when it comes to making friends or staying in hospital, as Matilda does in this book. The gentle words that rhyme will be comforting and reassuring and allow readers to come to terms with what they might go through. Hospital stays are scary at any age, but can be very overwhelming and terrifying for children, especially young children. So this is where Little Matilda comes in, to show kids that hospital isn’t always scary, and that the doctors and nurses are there to help them with everything they can, and will hopefully settle young minds if they are going to hospital for any reason.

I think this will help settle a child’s anxiety about the stay, and perhaps be a good resource, especially in children’s hospitals, as it is a book that can be read on wards and in Starlight rooms to entertain and calm children and their siblings – siblings might also be worried, and this book can help them understand what is going on in the family whilst people are in hospital. But more than that, the Little Matilda books explore various themes and everyday challenges that little people may face in their lives across a variety of things, not just going to the hospital. And these books also celebrate the power of friendship and helping each other, which is also very important and something that younger readers can come to understand through the books they read as well as the things they experience. Another great Little Matilda book.