Let's face it. Any Maisy book is going to be pleasing to it's target audience of toddlers and preschoolers. The artwork is bright and kid-friendly, the characters interesting. So when you 'pass judgment' on one of the books it more or less has to be in context of the whole collection.

As far as "Doctor Maisy" I thought it was good without being stellar. Basically what happens is that Maisy plays Hospital with Tallulah. Maisy is the doctor and Tallulah is a nurse. The parts I really like are where Tallulah puts the stethoscope on Maisy's chest and Maisy does the same to a toy panda. Maisy think it tickles and she 'hears' panda's heart go 'thump, thump'.

Then it's discovered that panda has a temperature, and Maisy takes him upstairs for a rest in bed. I think these activities are valuable and could be used to remind very young children what is going to happen at their next wellness checkup and that hearts have a job -- that they pump blood. (It's too bad they use an oral thermometer instead of one that goes in the ear. But that's a minor point.)

What I liked less was the ending where Tallulah shouts out for Maisy while she is upstairs and she then races down the stairs where she bumps into her friend. I mean, what's the point of that?!? Perhaps a lesson in taking the stairs slowly, but it seems out of place with the 'hospital' theme. In any case, Tallulah wraps Maisy's nose with a bandage and that's the end of the book. (meh)

Overall, an entertaining book, but not one of the best "Maisy's" in my opinion.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer (BooksforKids-reviews) ( )