Evaluating children's literature as a source for patient education.

Children's literature can be used to educate patients about illness, surgery, and hospitalization. However, nurses must evaluate popular literature for developmental appropriateness and content accuracy. Developmental considerations for selecting appropriate children's literature as patient education material include cognitive abilities, language development, and children's literary preferences. Content accuracy is judged based on current practice. Twenty-three children's books addressing surgery and hospitalization were reviewed by the senior author. A seven-step process was utilized to determine the appropriateness of each piece of children's literature reviewed. Based on the review, four common content inaccuracies were identified: (a) the depiction of nurses and their roles, (b) parental visitation policies, (c) preoperative preparation requirements, and (d) the depiction of inpatient surgeries that are currently performed on an outpatient basis. Only four of the 23 books reviewed were recommended to prepare children for surgery in the authors' community. The process of reviewing a book is demonstrated using the example of Curious George Goes to the Hospital.