Thank You, Dr. Salk!: The Scientist Who Beat Polio and Healed the World

Dr. Jonas Salk finds the cure for polio in this inspiring, educational, and timely nonfiction picture book.

Jonas Salk wasn't seen as a brave hero--not at first. As a child he was quiet and unassuming, but Jonas dreamed of tikkun olam, the Jewish phrase for "healing the world." He saw the polio virus strike his city, and he knew that with determination and hard work, he could be the one to stop its spread. So he grew up to study medicine, ultimately creating the polio vaccine that saved untold numbers of lives--and healed the world

With Dean Robbins's inspiring text and Mike Dutton's dynamic illustrations, Thank You, Dr. Salk is a true and timely story of trials, triumph, and what it takes to achieve your dreams. An author's note provides additional insight into Dr. Salk's life and influences, and the history of vaccines.

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Published: 06/22/2021
Pages: 40
Weight: 1lbs
Size: 11.20h x 9.20w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780374313913
Age: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.1
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 513711 / Thank You, Dr. Salk! the Scientist Who Beat Polio and Healed the World


Review Citation(s):
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2021
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2021
Booklist 06/01/2021 pg. 72

About the Author

Dean Robbins is a journalist and children's book author. His picture books include Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass; Miss Paul and the President: The Creative Campaign for Women's Right to Vote; Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing; and The Astronaut Who Painted the Moon. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his family.

Mike Dutton is the illustrator of Food Truck Fest, written by Alexandra Penfold. He has also drawn more than two hundred Google Doodles, including one of Dr. Jonas Salk. He created the illustrations for Thank You, Dr. Salk!: The Scientist Who Beat Polio and Healed the World, while sheltering in place during the Covid-19 pandemic and is currently writing a two-hundred-foot-long thank-you letter to the inventor of the vaccine.