Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio
by Peg Kehret

Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio
List Price: $15.25
Our Price: $6.44
You Save: $8.81 (58%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Peg Kehret
Edition: School & Library Binding
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-03
ISBN: 0613286456
Number of pages: 179
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Topeka Bindery

Book Reviews of Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

Book Review: A touching first-hand account of the great suffering that polio inflicted
Summary: 5 Stars

In our modern age of vaccinations, it seems inconceivable that in 1949, 42,033 cases of polio were diagnosed. It was a disease without a vaccine or antidote that meant excruciating pain, followed by extensive physical therapy assuming that the patient didn't die from complications. There are three main variants: spinal polio, which causes rapid paralysis of the arms and legs (generally asymmetrical), bulbar polio, which causes difficulty breathing and swallowing (and frequently requiring the use of iron lungs as breathing muscles and mechanisms are greatly weakened), and respiratory polio, a combination of the above two. Peg Kehret was twelve years old when she contracted respiratory polio; she was the only victim in her small Minnesota town that year.

Peg recounts her terrifying illness in a very matter-of-fact yet gripping narrative. Paralysis set in rapidly, and she had a fever of 102 for nearly a week as her muscles weakened, requiring her to use an oxygen tent. But Peg was lucky; once her fever breaks (aided by a contraband chocolate milkshake), her recovery is much more rapid than her fellow hospital and rehab roommates. Even though Peg is nearly a teenager, there are small poignant touches of the remnants of childhood; her brother Art sent her a teddy bear that had to be burned once she left the polio ward, and her mother recommended that she donate her old books and toys to the children's polio ward. Peg resists, recalling happy memories with her old books and toys, and is dismayed to find that her parents have redecorated her old room as a surprise.

Peg is an engaging narrator who brings a distant era to life through radio dramas such as The Lone Ranger and the simplicity of a time where books and friendships filled our hours instead of electronics. Her rehabilitation is tempered with humor and spirit; no self-pity here, only the desire to become the best she can be. The Sister Kenny method of polio treatment is described in detail, along with physical and occupational therapy exercises. Peg has a crush on Dr. Bevis, a handsome doctor who makes her feel special by painting her toenails when she's still in intensive care, and promises him that she'll return to walk for him. She makes friends with several other girls recovering from polio, including the bitter Alice, who's lived at the rehabilitation center for ten years after her parents couldn't care for her. The girls are brought together by their shared experiences as polio survivors, and Peg is apprehensive about rejoining her school and the outside world.

The novel is brought full-circle by the sad mention that Peg, along with her former roommates, suffers from post-polio syndrome; around 25% of childhood polio sufferers develop additional symptoms decades after the initial infection, including muscle weakness, fatigue, or paralysis. After working so hard to overcome polio, she's certainly not giving in now. There are also vintage photographs of the author and her roommates scattered throughout. A marvelous introduction to polio's debilitating effects and the power of positive thinking on recovery.

Summary of Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio

In a riveting story of courage and hope, Peg Kehret tells of months spent in a hospital when she was 12, first struggling to survive a severe case of polio, then slowly learning to walk again. Her powerful account is also full of the humor that she and four spunky roommates found in daily hospital life. Kehret is author of the Frightmares series.

General Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in General Books
Boynton's Greatest Hits: Volume II (The Going to Bed Book, Horns to Toes, Opposites, But Not the Hippopotamus) ImageBoynton's Greatest Hits: Volume II (The Going to Bed Book, Horns to Toes, Opposites, But Not the Hippopotamus)
Little Simon; Published: 1999-09-01; Board book; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $21.95
It's Time to Call 911: What to Do in an Emergency (It's Time to) ImageIt's Time to Call 911: What to Do in an Emergency (It's Time to)
by Inc. Penton Overseas
Smart Kids; Published: 2005-01-03; Board book; Book
Best price: $3.18
Price in other shops: $7.95
De La Cabeza a Los Pies: Head to Toe (Spanish Edition) ImageDe La Cabeza a Los Pies: Head to Toe (Spanish Edition)
Rayo; Published: 2003-03-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.32
Price in other shops: $16.99
Animal (Jigsaw Puzzle Board Books) ImageAnimal (Jigsaw Puzzle Board Books)
by DK Publishing
DK Preschool; Published: 1997-09-01; Board book; Book
Price in other shops: $4.95
Freight Train ImageFreight Train
HarperTrophy; Published: 1992-09-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.79
Price in other shops: $6.99
Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever (Giant Little Golden Book) ImageRichard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever (Giant Little Golden Book)
Random House; Golden Books; Published: 1999-09-01; School & Library Binding; Book
Best price: $9.02
Price in other shops: $15.99
Go Away, Big Green Monster! ImageGo Away, Big Green Monster!
by Edward R Emberley
L,B Kids; Published: 1993-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: $10.99
The Wheels on the Bus ImageThe Wheels on the Bus
Dutton Juvenile; Published: 1990-10-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.58
Price in other shops: $20.99
Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio ImageSmall Steps: The Year I Got Polio
by Peg Kehret
Topeka Bindery; Published: 2001-03; School & Library Binding; Book
Best price: $6.44
Price in other shops: $15.25
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Mini Book and CD (If You Give...) ImageIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie Mini Book and CD (If You Give...)
by Laura Joffe Numeroff
Laura Geringer; Published: 2007-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.71
Price in other shops: $11.99
Similar Books and other products
The City of Ember (Books of Ember) ImageThe City of Ember (Books of Ember)
by Jeanne Duprau
Yearling; Published: 2008-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.05
Price in other shops: $6.99
Esperanza Rising ImageEsperanza Rising
by Pam Munoz Ryan
SCHOLASTIC BOOKS (TRADE); Blue Sky Press; Published: 2002-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.96
Price in other shops: $6.99
Letters from Rifka ImageLetters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
Puffin; Published: 1993-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops: $6.99
Living with Polio: The Epidemic and Its Survivors ImageLiving with Polio: The Epidemic and Its Survivors
by Daniel J. Wilson
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2007-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.83
Price in other shops: $17.00
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy) ImageMrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh (Aladdin Fantasy)
by Robert C. O'Brien
Aladdin; Published: 1986-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.50
Price in other shops: $6.99
Freak The Mighty (Scholastic Signature) ImageFreak The Mighty (Scholastic Signature)
by Rodman Philbrick
Scholastic Paperbacks; Published: 2001-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.48
Price in other shops: $5.99
Blindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir ImageBlindsided : Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir
by Richard Cohen
Published: 2004-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.35
Price in other shops: $23.95
Body of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab ImageBody of Work: Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab
by Christine Montross
Penguin Press HC, The; Published: 2007-06-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $24.95
Caring for Patients from Different Cultures ImageCaring for Patients from Different Cultures
by Geri-Ann Galanti
University of Pennsylvania Press; Published: 2008-07-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.15
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing ImageThe Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing
by Lori Alvord, Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt
Bantam; Published: 2000-06-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.75
Price in other shops: $16.00