Dylan the Doctor by Guy Parker-Rees – plus GIVEAWAY!

We are so excited to be taking part in our first ever blog tour and we’re rounding this one off with a giveaway to boot. Details on how to enter are further down this post.

Dylan the Doctor is a new picture book (and the first in a series) written and illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees. Published by Alison Green Books for Scholastic this book introduces us to Dylan, a loveable and happy dog who loves to play.

Dylan decides that today he is going to make everyone better with his doctor’s kit and sets off shouting “Nee-naw, nee-naw” like an ambulance in search of people who need his help. He is kept very busy bandaging up Purple Puss, mending Jolly Otter’s tail and coming to the rescue in an emergency for Titchy Chick. The only trouble is that Dylan is tired out after taking care of all his friends so who will look after him?

This book stands out with its bright yellow cover and the friendly characters drawn with multi-coloured lines. There is so much about this book that appeals to little ones; Dylan is covered in different coloured crayon stripes which is just how my three year old decorates peoples clothes when he is drawing.

He also relates easily to the subject of doctor pretend play and his doctor’s kit is quite similar to Dylan’s (minus the stinky sock though). I love this illustration of the doctor’s kit, big labelled pictures are a great way to engage with the book.

There’s an extra element to this book in the form of a little ladybird called Dotty Bug who appears on every page and asks questions to encourage readers to interact and join in with the story. Direct questions like these serve as brilliant prompts for starting conversations about the story. In particular in this book they can be useful when talking about hospital or doctor visits which some children may find scary.

This would be a great book to share when discussing people who help us as well as thinking about friendships. There are so many activities that could be inspired by this story and it will really fire up children’s imaginations. This is a gorgeous picture book that marries together reading and pretend play in one brightly coloured bundle. We are looking forward to seeing Dylan in his next adventure – Dylan the Shopkeeper.

If you would like to win a copy of Dylan the Doctor then the lovely people at Scholastic have three copies to give away! (Open to UK and IRL residents only) To enter click the link below:

Win one of three copies of Dylan the Doctor!

You can find out more about Guy Parker-Rees on his website here.

Inspired by this story, we decided to make our own stethoscope. Here’s how you can do it too…

All you need is a funnel, cardboard tube (we used one from a kitchen roll) tape and a balloon (optional).

Put the funnel inside one end of the cardboard tube and tape to secure. Make sure you put enough tape on so there are no gaps between the funnel and the tube.

Once you’ve done that you are pretty much done! Place your ear at the cardboard end with the funnel on a friend’s chest and you should be able to hear their heart. My bigger boy couldn’t quite hear it like this though so we added this extra stage…

Cut the end off a balloon and stretch the rest of it over the end of the funnel, secure with tape. The balloon helps to amplify the sound and you should be able to hear a heartbeat much easier.

Of course it needed some decoration (including glitter, just like the get well soon card that Dylan makes in the story) so here’s our finished stethoscope…

With older children this could be a great activity for finding out more about our bodies such as exploring how our heart rates change after exercising.

Thanks to Scholastic for sending a free copy of Dylan the Doctor for review.

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