The Mütter Museum

“Dhody proves that you’re never too young to learn about megacolons and articulated skeletons. Vive la curiosity!" - Caitlin Doughty, mortician and author of “Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?"

 

“Giants’ bones, and swallowed pins, and a dead lady made of soap–the Mütter Museum is a child's imagination run wild! Every exhibit Dhody writes about was once part of a person, and she brings their stories to life with heart, wit and respect. The reader will marvel, learn, and laugh, but never gawk." - Mary Roach, author of “Stiff"and “Gulp."

“A wonderful way to dip your young one's toe into the macabre-educational collection that is the Mütter Museum. It’s all here! Give your curious kiddo a book that will ‘disturbingly inform' their friends, and teach them some anatomy at the same time!" -  Mike Zohn, co-star of the reality show “Oddities,"and co-owner of Obscura Antiques & Oddities, NYC.

Gr 3–8—A junior guide named A.J. and his ghostly companions take readers on a museum tour that is not for the faint of heart. The Mütter Museum, part of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, has been a repository for medical oddities, specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment since it was founded by Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter in 1863. After A.J. explains how to pronounce the umlauted in the doctor's last name, Mütter is the first ghost to appear on the pages of this whimsically illustrated tour. Dhody, the museum's curator, shares exhibits that will appeal to readers who have an interest in the human body, and the stomach for gross details. There is the adipocere (corpse wax) that is the substance of the "Soap Lady," the horn made out of the skin that grew from a Frenchwoman's head in the 1800s, a megacolon that once contained "40 pounds of poo," and more. As each specimen is introduced, its ghost climbs out of the display to join the tour group. One of the ghosts uses the megacolon as a balloon. The playful drawings lighten the tone and add to the appeal. Back matter includes further reading and photographs from the museum collection. Older readers could be motivated to learn more about the museum and its history. VERDICT Just what the doctor ordered. This engaging picture book is an obvious choice for a book talk.—Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Lit. Specialist, Pasadena, MD 

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL 07-01-2020

-- School Library Journal