today’s children storybook summary is

Patrick Gets Hearing Aids

By Maureen Cassidy Riski and Nikolas Klakow

Illustrations by Kim Klakow

Theme: Helping children understand hearing loss.

Plot: A school age rabbit does not hear well, causing him a lot of problems. He must get checked.

Talking points: Often time children with hearing loss are isolated by their peers. This book is not only for the kids with hearing impairment, but for their classmates as well. Some questions to ask are: What happens when you cannot hear? What can we do about it? How do you get your ears checked? How can we help our friends with hearing loss?

Storyline

Patrick, a school age rabbit, has a problem. He cannot hear very well. When his friends are having a party, he cannot sing with them; at school, he missis the teacher’s directions; at recess, he plays by himself. And at home, he likes to watch TV with the volume turned high.

One day, Patrick’s parents take him to an ear doctor. After doctor Elephant investigates his ears, he sends Patrick to the audiologist to take a hearing test. The rabbit is asked to go in a booth and wear a headset. Then he must throw a small colorful block into a bucket every time he hears a beeping sound. At the end, the audiologist said that Patrick need hearing aids. The audiologist takes an earmold of his ears and a couple of weeks later, Patrick gets his hearing aids. It is a big day. Now, Patrick can hear loud and clear: the birds, the cars, the kids shouting on the playground, the tv, and the teacher.

It took Patrick very little to get used to his hearing aids. Now, Patrick could play games and his favorite time at school became the music class.

Characters: Patrick, a rabbit; his family; Dr. Elephant, other animals

Illustration:

This book is illustrated by Kim Klakow, with realistic drawings and cheerful colors. Each page has its own text and illustration. The details are simple but in context. The character’s emotions are not always visible unless accompanied by the text.

At the end of the book, there is a Speech and Hearing Checklist that describes the expected speech and hearing behaviors from children at different ages.

Recommended Age: 5 to 8

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Things to Learn: Hearing Aids, Earmolds, Hearing loss

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