Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Book Review and Giveaway: THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN by William Sears, MD, et al.

CLOSED.
Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,
I have been authorized to
 give away one (1) copy

Rules for entering this giveaway
are at the bottom of this post.


by William Sears, MD; Martha Sears, RN; Robert Sears, MD
James Sears, MD; and Peter Sears, MD

Pub. Date: February 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Format: Paperback , 592pp
ISBN-13: 9780316017480
ISBN: 0316017485

Description (from the publisher):
Imagine you are up at three o'clock in the morning with a sick child. Wouldn't it be nice to have expert advice readily at hand to help get you through the night? Encyclopedic in scope, THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN features timely and practical information on every childhood illness and emergency, including when to call the doctor, what reassuring signs can help you know your child is okay, how to treat your child at home, and much more-all in a convenient A-to-Z format. Among the scores of topics covered:
 

teething; sprains and broken bones; nosebleeds; measles; ear infections; choking; rashes; colic; headaches; eating disorders; fever; hip pain; warts; allergies; obesity; seizures; Asperger's Syndrome; bronchitis; masturbation; sunburns; pneumonia; speech delay; lice; vomiting; asthma; heart defects; blisters; sleep problems; and more.
 
The Searses guide parents and caregivers from a child's infancy through the teen years, teaching them what to expect at regular checkups as well as how to boost a child's well-being, devise a family health plan, work effectively with their pediatrician, and more. Distinguished by the Searses' trademark comprehensiveness, reliability, and accessible, comforting one, this book is a must-have for all families who want to keep their children healthy and happy.


About the authors (from the publisher):
William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN, are the pediatric experts on whom American parents increasingly rely for advice and information on all aspects of pregnancy, birth, childcare, and family nutrition. Dr. Sears has practiced pediatrics for more than 40 years, and is an associate clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Martha Sears is a registered nurse and parenting and health consultant. Robert W. Sears, MD, is a board-certified pediatrician in private practice in southern California.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars - A Great Resource

My Thoughts:
What a terrific book! If you have kids or grandkids running around your house, you should have a copy of THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN handy. Since I live with my young niece and nephew, I was really excited to have the opportunity to review this book, and not only was I not disappointed, I was much more impressed than I expected.

I really like how easy it is to use this volume. Even though the authors cover childhood health issues relevent from infancy through the teenage years, everything is easy to understand. The bulk of the book is a section called "Pediatric Concerns and Illnesses: A to Z." The conditions discussed range from major to minor and cover all sorts of routine concerns. With subheadings such as Symptoms; Causes; Treatment;When to Worry; What to Do and even What Not to Do and How Long Will It Last, it's easy to get useful and clear information. It's great having so much advice at my fingertips, and I've also found it interesting to sit down and just randomly read. 

I also like the sections on getting the most from checkups and office visits. Sometimes its difficult to talk to your child's doctor because your baby is fussy or your doctor seems rushed. I thought the discussion on how to prepare for an office visit and what to expect was really helpful. I especially liked that the section included the teen years and what sorts of questions to ask and discussions to have with your doctor when your child is older.

You might think that with the Internet, a book such THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN would be obsolete these days, but think again. In the time it would take you to power up your computer, Google some symptoms, and wade through the results, you could have already referred to this book and evaluated your child's condition as well as decided whether you need a trip to the doctor, the drugstore, or maybe only the sofa! Not to mention that you could just sit back in a comfy chair and leaf through it and familiarize yourself with illnesses and conditions that may not yet be present but that you're likely to encounter down the line. Wouldn't you prefer to know ahead of time how to treat a black eye, bloody nose, or bee sting?


THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN is a great resource that no family home should be without.

FTC Disclaimer: I recieved a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  Honest!

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• PLEASE NOTE: One win per household. If you win this title in another contest hosted at another blog, Hachette will only send one copy per household address.

Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, March 18, 2011.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group
for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

30 comments:

rubynreba said...

We have a new grandson who stays with us a lot. This would be a very valuable resource for us to use!
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

rubynreba said...

I am a follower.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

PoCoKat said...

Would be a very handy book to have!

littleone AT shaw DoT ca

Reading said...

This sounds like something I could use with my 2 little guys! Thanks for the giveaway.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Shannon said...

We're still relying on Dr. Sears' Baby Book and my kids are much older now. We need to upgrade our reference book.
tiredwkids at live dot com

Shannon said...

I'm a follower.
tiredwkids at live dot com

Diana D said...

We have grandchildren and I feel this book would be good for us to have. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway


dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Diana D said...

I am a GFC follower. Thanks

dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Diana D said...

I am also an email subscriber. Thanks again.


dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

Ann Summerville said...

As a new grandmother this sounds like a must have book for my library. Thanks for the review.
Ann
cozyintexas@yahoo.com

Zibilee said...

This sounds like a great resource for you and I am glad that you found it useful. No need to enter me, as my kids are a bit older than this book probably targets.

traveler said...

This would be invaluable. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

I am an e-mail subscriber. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Lori L said...

If I win, I'll be giving this book to some new parents - it will make a great gift for them since my kids are all grown up.
shetreadssoftly(at)gmail(dot)com

Lori L said...

I'm a follower.
shetreadssoftly(at)gmail(dot)com

natatheangel said...

Count me in to win this book

Michelle (Red Headed Book Child) said...

I have one son who is 3 and I need all the help I can get. I am a research junkie when it comes to anything about him so I would love to win.

_Michelle

michwerm@gmail.com

Michelle (Red Headed Book Child) said...

New follower as of last week.

michwerm@gmail.com

SusanB said...

I have a new baby granddaughter and a 3 year old grandson that stays with us quite a bit. Would love to have this as a reference.
susan.byerly@comcast.net

SusanB said...

I follow via google.
susan.byerly@comcast.net

mrsshukra said...

This is a very helpful reference!!!!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Dawn M. said...

This would be a great book to have. Count me in, please!

Thanks! :0)
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Dawn M. said...

I subscribe by email. (midnightblue)

Thanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Dawn M. said...

Tweeted:
http://twitter.com/#!/librarygrinch/status/48562192387284992

librarygrinch at gmail dot com

Patricia said...

Would love to win this for my brother and his wife, who are new parents!
patricia dot mariani dot esq at gmail dot com

Patricia said...

I follow via GFC as Patricia
patricia dot mariani dot esq at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

If (WHEN!) I win I'm going to give this to my son, he and his wife had twins not too long ago and they are the love or our lives.

Tony
rositatony (at) yahoo (dot) com

Anonymous said...

I subscribe via email.
Tony
rositatony (at) yahoo (dot) com

Rosita said...

This would be just the thing to have on hand. I'm a grandmother to twins and I'm always coming up with questions.

rositaDOTpDOTmariani{at}gmailDOTcom

Rosita said...

I'm a Google Follower: Rosita
rositaDOTpDOTmariani{at}gmail{dot}com