This is a really nice addition to non-fiction picture books for children and even better, it’s about a black man! It very deservedly just won a 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children.

Bootman’s use of cool colors gives the story a calm feeling Thomas seemed to be a calm and collected person and the watercolor illustrations reflect that. She also includes interesting back matter about “blue babies” and more information about Thomas. Hooks does a great job chronicling Thomas’ life & explaining medical procedures clearly for children to understand. Vivien Thomas pioneered open heart surgery on children and his compassion, intelligence and bravery has saved countless lives. Though he got no credit for his procedure until he was much older, he became a respected technician, always eager to share and teach his knowledge. When presented with the challenge of how to treat “blue babies” he excelled. Even though he faced more discrimination and segregation there than in his home of Nashville, Tennessee, he thrived. When given the chance, Vivien moved his family to Baltimore, Maryland to assist Dr. He absorbed everything very quickly, but when he learned that his official job was “janitor” (and that he made less than his white counterparts) he refused to work until that changed.

As a teenager, Vivien worked as a researcher at the all white Vanderbilt University for Dr. The needles are for an operation he invented but wouldn’t get credit for for twenty-six years, all because of the color of his skin. We meet Vivien as he’s examining the tiny needles he designed. In Tiny Stitches, Gwendolyn Hooks tells the story of the incredibly gifted Vivien Thomas. Though I was fortunate to grow up with a decent education on Black History, there’s always more to learn. Historical dramas like Hidden Figures have me thinking about all the stories of black excellence I don’t know about stories that we’ve yet to discover and celebrate. Vivien's name did not appear in the report.Image Credit: Lee & Low Books Inc., Gwendolyn Hooks/Colin Bootman Taussig announced their innovative new surgical technique, the Blalock-Taussig shunt. After months of experimenting, Vivien developed a procedure that was used for the first successful open-heart surgery on a child. Helen Taussig find a cure for children with a specific heart defect. Blalock's research assistant, Vivien learned surgical techniques. Vivien knew that the all-white school would never admit him as a student, but he hoped working there meant he was getting closer to his dream.As Dr. Then he heard about a job opening at the Vanderbilt University medical school under the supervision of Dr. But after the stock market crashed in 1929, Vivien lost all his savings. Vivien Thomas's greatest dream was to attend college to study medicine.

Tiny Stitches by Gwendolyn Hooks