Emergency! - Hardcover

This action-packed companion to Fire! (1998) provides an introduction to the personnel, special vehicles, and equipment that are a part of responses to 911 calls for medical emergencies. Each spread includes nearly a dozen full-color close-up photographs with a brief text describing how the tools are used. A spread on ``Vital Signs'' has a discussion of how emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or emergency room team members check for pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and temperature, and the equipment they use. Other spreads cover the inside of an ambulance, rescue truck, med-evac helicopter, and an operating room. Masoff offers a brief timeline of milestones in medicine, describes what if feels like to be part of the emergency team, suggests ten things readers can do to be prepared for emergencies, and includes places to write for more information. Packed with facts, this title has broad appeal, capturing the pace of emergency work in a visually appealing package. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4^-6. The author of Fire uses the drama of a 911 call and lots of action photos to draw readers into this overview of the roles and responsibilities of emergency medical personnel, from the EMTs who provide assistance on-site to the doctors and nurses in the hospital emergency room and operating theater. Like the earlier book, this is crammed with crisp full-color pictures, including shots of equipment used on the job and people at work. Each double-page spread focuses on a different topic--what happens in the lab ("I'll need a chem 7"), what to do if you are faced with an emergency, what goes on in an emergency room, and more--and Masoff has peppered the pages with concise but clear explanations of a wealth of associated terminology. The layout is crowded, almost to the point of sensory overload, but children with plenty of time to browse will come away well pleased. Stephanie Zvirin