ER Vets: Life in an Animal Emergency Room

ER Vets by Donna Jackson is a short nonfiction book about what goes on inside of an emergency room in a veterinary clinic. It gives you pictures, procedures, facts about animals’ health, and personal stories. The stories and pictures are real, which allows for the reader to get first-hand

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accounts of things that can harm your animals.

I would teach this book in my classroom for two reasons. It is both informative and a work of nonfiction. The first, informative, is always a great way to teach a student something that they may need to know at some point in their lives, so it is relevant to them. Also, being a nonfiction book, this is a fun way to get the students to read nonfiction that they do not see as boring or uninteresting.

I liked this book. I learned a lot from it, especially what I needed to keep my dog away from, such as chocolate, and why they needed to be kept away from it. The cover draws you in and the pictures keep you reading. This book is not one that I would teach to younger children simply because of the procedural pictures and large words. However, this book is great for older individuals and young adults. Overall, I would recommend that most anyone read this book if they are curious about the material.

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Very sweet book about the experiences of animals in a vet clinic. Brings the appeal of animal planet to children without the TV.

This book shows the courage, compassion and dedication it takes to be an ER Veterinarian through interviews, real life incidents, and photographs. It includes technical information, history, information about death of a pet, preparing a pet emergency kit and other resources for finding out more

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information about the topic. I loved this book because of the vast array of information, the variety of formats in which it was presented, and the way it was organized. The personal stories are touching and the photographs are fabulous.

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This informational book would be great for a child with the interest in pets and possibly becoming a vet. the vocabulary about the different titles is great, would be awesome study guide for a section in the possible health professions (older graders). The illustrations are wonderful to help

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understand what procedures the animals are going through. This book is a little advanced for an early reader but great for parents to read aloud, especially if a pet of theirs has been injured. This book could definetly alleviate some nerves of what might be happening to their pet.

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Jackson, D. (2005). ER Vets: Life in an Animal Emergency Room. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

ER Vets is a nonfiction book that gives young readers a VERY realistic glimpse into what it is like to work with sick animals. The book presents many facts about animals, like what the correct body

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temperatures are for cats and dog. It also provides a chapter on the history of veterinarians and how the occupation came about. In some of the other chapters the author provides a short story of a real animal who was rushed to the ER. It describes the animals condition, how it was cared for, and the outcome.

The book is filled with photographs, some of which are very graphic and heart-wrenching, so I feel this book would best be suited for fourth grade and up. Each photo is accompanied with a descriptive caption so the reader knows exactly what is being shown. Helpful information is provided at the back of the book: a list of items one needs in a pet first-aid kit, books and websites to find more information, a list of critical terms, and an index.

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This book begins with the question “What is an animal emergency room?” and then takes the reader through life in an animal ER. Readers learn about triage, the types of doctors in an animal ER, how to tell if your pet needs emergency care, and the history of veterinary practices. Next come the

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profiles and case studies of veterinarians and a few of the animals they have helped.

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I think children in upper elementary school would find this book interesting. It could be part of a career exploration lesson, or part of a classroom library. It is a book that students would appreciate.

"ER Vets" is a great book for students who might be interested in pursuing a veterinary career. This book hits on many important aspects of the field while defining important terms and using great images that really give the reader a feel for life in a vet clinic. ER Vets covers topics such as the

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history of humans and pets, losing a pet, and treatment of exotics. It additionally gives great real-life case studies involving a horse and a snake. Throughout the book important terms, abbreviations, and lingo are defined and an extensive glossary is included in the back. The author includes really great photographs and x-rays that show the reader great examples of the type of things that occur in a veterinary setting and some of the things vets tackle on a daily basis. Working in a vet clinic is not pretty and there are lots of unexpected parts of the job and this book does a good job of illustrating some of these aspects without showing too much that might prove shocking for some readers.

I would definitely consider giving this book to students who express interest in the veterinary field. It is not an easy field to pursue and this would give them the basis for what to expect working in vet clinic.

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Jackson supports her brief review of emergency room maneuvers with historical tidbits, daily encounters, and animal factoids. Good quality pictures are used throughout to support ideas presented and highlight how animals are at the center of all actions. A pet first aid kit content list,

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publication and web site list, critical terms and index are provided. Teachers could easily incorporate material into lesson plans for older grade school and middle school students.

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