Kevin and the School Nurse

These four worthwhile tales, each of which focuses on a child in need of medical attention, introduce the AMA Kids series, developed in conjunction with the American Medical Association. In the first title, Maggie and her friends ride bikes down a dirt path through the woods. When Maggie takes a spill and cuts her forehead, she and her mother drive to a hospital emergency room, where the child receives several stitches, as well as an admonition to wear a bicycle helmet and be more careful from now on. In the second story, Robby wakes up one day feeling ``sick and crabby.'' When his father takes him to the doctor's office, he learns that he has an ear infection, is given a prescription for medicine and is instructed to wear a hat outside for a few days. Similarly, basic medical information and advice is offered in the remaining books, in which Rita has her tonsils removed during an overnight hospital stay; and Kevin, dizzy and weak because he has neglected to eat breakfast and lunch, gets a lesson on nutrition from the school nurse. Davison's direct yet reassuring writing is ably supported by three illustrators' appealingly simple, four-color drawings. The series is distinguished by its realistic details--Maggie and her mother have to wait for some time to see the doctor at the emergency room; Robby feels discomfort when the doctor uses an otoscope to look inside his ear. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)