A Doctor at Heart

A fascinating and inspiring picture book biography about Vivien Thomas, a pioneer of children’s heart surgery and trailblazer for Black people in STEM.

Vivien Thomas always loved solving problems and figuring out how things worked. In high school, inspired by his family physician, he decided he would become a doctor. Despite losing his college savings during the 1930 bank panic, Vivien stayed dedicated to making his dream a reality, a trait that would serve him all his life.

Vivien secured a lab assistant position at Vanderbilt University and later moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he and his mentor developed a groundbreaking procedure to cure blue baby syndrome, which led to them performing the first open-heart surgery on a child.

With the power of his passion, perseverance, and dedication to learning (and without any formal college education), Vivien saved thousands of lives.