Pros / This book is a colorful, lyrical, and fun read for precocious infants, toddlers, and children with an interest in acid-base disorders.
Cons / The tale focuses little on Bartter and Gitelman syndromes.
The One Liner / Grace & Chase Tackle Acid-Base is the first children’s book dedicated solely to acid-base disorders and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is an entertaining and effective way to teach youngsters about the joys of acidosis and alkalosis.
Once again, nephrologist and children’s book author Eileen Jackson combines her love of kids and kidneys in this new exciting and educational tale. In Grace & Chase Tackle Acid-Base, beloved 6-year-old twin sibling heroes Grace & Chase return, this time to embark on a quest to conquer the mysterious and confusing world of acid-base disorders.
The story starts in the home of Grace & Chase where they spend a typical night enjoying dinner and studying lab abnormalities with their parents. Later that evening, Grace & Chase’s parents are kidnapped by Nasty Nigel the Nephron. In order to defeat Nasty Nigel and save their parents’ lives for good, heroes Grace & Chase must navigate Planet pH and solve the tricky and confusing acid-base problems that are thrown their way.
In his first riddle, evildoer Nasty Nigel the Nephron teases Grace & Chase:
My oh my, with a pH of 7.2,
What will little Grace & little Chase do?
There is no way they will ever guess,
The mixed acid-base that caused this mess!
Grace & Chase meet numerous memorable characters along the way. There’s Rhonda the Respiratory Alkalotic and Ralph the Respiratory Acidotic in Lung Land. Tubule Town has Mary the Metabolic Alkalotic and she’s a hoot! Anion Gap Junction contains Danny the Diabetic, Alfred the Alcoholic, Starved Stan, Eugene the Uremic, Sally the Salicylate, and Lactate Larry.
Readers will be in for a surprise when Grace & Chase are challenged by Terry the Three-Headed Acid-Base Monster. But I won’t spoil the fun. (Check out our sister site, Gomerpedia, to read the entire book.)
Grace & Chase Tackle Acid-Base is a page-turner from beginning to end and it will provide hours upon hours of fun and formulas. Parents and children will find endless laughter and learning whether you like simple acid-base disorders, mixed acid-base disorders, or compensatory respiratory and renal responses. And who doesn’t?!
Grace & Chase are ready to tackle acid-base. Their parents’ lives depend on it! Are YOU brave enough to join them?
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