Doctor White

An illustrated depiction of a real-life story that celebrates the eternal, life-affirming bond between animals and humans

 

Everyone loves Dr. White, a furry practitioner with four paws, a wagging tail, and an unorthodox bedside manner who day by day works his magic on very ill children at the hospital. Although his treatment is unconventional, it has a great success rate. But one day the health inspector arrives and bans Dr. White from the hospital. Who could have predicted the terrible coincidence that ends up bringing Dr. White back to the patients who love him? Based on a true story from a London hospital, Jane Goodall’s enchanting book reminds readers of all ages of the healing power of love.

"Based on the true story of a little white dog adopted by a London children's hospital, this affecting picture book pays tribute to the healing power of the human-animal bond. Doctor White is more than a stray dog. He's a beacon of hope to the children he visits and nothing short of a miracle to the hospital staff for the way he instinctively knows which children are the sickest and stays by their sides until they grow well. But when the health inspector turns him out, Doctor White is cut off from his patients—until the health inspector's own daughter falls ill and a nurse breaks the rules to bring Doctor White's healing touch to her. As his daughter recovers, the health inspector himself returns Doctor White's bowl to the hospital kitchen. The straightforward text never lapses into cuteness or anthropomorphism, and Litty's sketchy watercolors employ a faded palette that evokes a sense of old photographs, rendering the story immediate yet giving it a sense of history."—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

"The straightforward text never lapses into cuteness or anthropomorphism, and Litty’s sketchy watercolors employ a faded palette that evokes a sense of old photographs, rendering the story immediate yet giving it a sense of history."—School Library Journal

Jane Goodall is a preeminent anthropologist and conservationist and the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. She is the author of Hope for Animals and Their World, My Life with the Chimpanzees, and Reason for Hope.

 

Julie Litty is a graphic designer and the illustrator of many children’s books, including Leo Hates Girls and The Star. She is the author and illustrator of Chloe and the Magic Baton.

A real-life story about an extraordinary dog from Jane Goodall that celebrates the bond between animals and humans