Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio Read Free Books and Download eBooks
In a riveting story of courage and hope, Peg Kehret writes about months spent in a hospital when she was twelve, first struggling to survive a severe case of polio, then slowly learning to walk again.
Paperback: 179 pages
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (January 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0807574589
ISBN-13: 978-0807574584
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #14,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Special Needs #20 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Difficult Discussions > Illness #26 in Books > Children's Books > Biographies > Women
Age Range: 9 - 12 years
Grade Level: 3 - 8
In Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret, Peg has plenty of friends, a brother, and two loving parents. She's the average middle school girl. How much more normal can you get? One day while in choir class, she has this terrible muscle spasm. That's the beginning of what made her unique. Peg's temperature rises, and is taken to the hospital, only to find out she has polio, the only case in her town of that year. Peg is immediately put into isolation, where she becomes paralyzed from the neck down, and cannot breathe properly. She develops not only one type of polio, not two, but three types. The author made me feel like I was there, witnessing Peg's discomfort. Read about Peg's feelings as her polio worsens, then gets better. Share her triumphs and disappointments. You'll be caught up in this book, and you won't want to put it down. Peg Kehret tells what happens in Peg's fight against polio. The author really makes you feel like you're there. I think people of all ages looking for a good drama will really enjoy this book. It teaches you what happens when you're willing to try anything to get things the way you want them. This book takes you away from your world, and into Peg Shulze's. MorgTC & CBTherese
Kristie Loftus12/6/04Small Steps: The Year I Got PolioPeg Kehret0807574589 Have you ever thought of what it would be like one day, waking up, feeling completely fine, and then you have a muscle spasm, and you find out later that you have a disease that can severely hurt you, or even kill you? In the book, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, Peg comes to find that she has three different types of polio. She started off with just a muscle spasm, thinking it was no big deal. She later finds out she has polio. Then she finds out that not only does she have polio, but three different types. She meets a few people in her journey through different hospitals. This story is a page-turner; it's amazing to see how strong some people really are, not on the outside, but on the inside as well. This book is incredible. People think that their lives are so terrible, but really when you think about it, and you read this book, you realize things aren't as bad as they seem. I mean, I am not one that loves to read, but to hear someone else's story, and about there life, it's shocking. I honestly, would never be able to deal with what she went through. She went from hospital to hospital; she dealt with the mean nurse that made her put hot rags on her skin to help loosen her muscles. I would never be able to handle the stretching, and the hot rags or any of that. It shocked me to hear that polio can kill you. Some of the girls in the room that she stayed with had polio also, Alice has had it since she was little, and her family didn't want a blob sitting/laying around all day. One of the other girls had to lay in an iron-lung, because her lungs were not strong enough to let her breathe on her own. It's sad how none of them can walk very well because of polio. They either walk with walking sticks, wheelchairs, or they walk very slowly with out anything. I could not put the book down. I thought about my life compared to Peg's and the other girls, I would be stupid to try to make people feel bad for me considering what other people go through. I think anybody who likes biographies would enjoy this book. Like I said before, I am not a reader, but I could not put it down. It's hurtful to read about other people's problems, but you learn that life isn't as bad as you might seem to think it is.
Excellent book! My 9 year old daughter (starting 4th grade) was dubious about the book at first, but after the first page was in love. She now claims it is her favorite book. It was a very interesting and engaging read, recounting the feelings and experience of contracting and recovering from polio. I enjoyed the photographs that were added so that my daughter could visualize things that were otherwise foreign to her (ie: an iron lung). Excellently written, full of humanity, and entertaining as well.
Small Steps: The Year I got Polio should be read by teens,because it shows how to overcome struggles. It is about a young girl who has been dearly loved all of her life, when suddenly she is ripped out of a loving home and forced to live in a isolation ward. One of her struggles is being paralyzed from the neck down. She cannot move any part of her body except her head. Peg is faced with many hardships throughout the book. For instance she has to endure Sister Kenny treatments which are extremely painful. Overall this book was a fantastic novel about a young girl facing obstacles.
I read this to my 10 year old son because I wanted him to understand the importance of those irritating shots at the doctor. He LOVED it. Every day he asked me to read more to him. It is not every book that gets him that excited, and since this does not contain dragons or robots, I didn't expect such enthusiasm. He was extremely concerned early on that she would die of polio, and I had to give him the spoiler that it's an autobiography, therefore we know she lives - after all, she wrote the book. He was very relieved, and wanted to see pictures to prove it. That was his level of involvement with this book.Ultimately, this book is very accessible for people of any age, but especially kids. The language is simple but paints clear pictures of how Peg felt. She writes about the sadness of losing a favorite stuffed animal and the incredible joy of being able to drink a chocolate milkshake after being refused it for days. These simple things make it easy to relate to Peg and the other kids she writes about, even if we can't relate to her experience with polio.As a parent, I appreciate all the information included about the history of polio. I appreciate the lessons Peg learned and shares with us, including never giving up, the importance of family, and how small kindnesses can make a big difference. There are beautiful life lessons subtly woven into this book that can provide great topics of conversation.I recommend this book for any kid or family.
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