Early Book Review: Incubators: A Graphic History by Paige V. Polinsky, Josep Rural

Incubators: A Graphic History, written by Paige V. Polinsky and illustrated by Josep Rural, is currently scheduled for release on January 1 2022. When babies are born early, they often have trouble surviving. But special containers called incubators help babies grow by keeping them warm and protected. At first, people in the medical world were skeptical about incubators. But some trailblazing doctors believed in the technology—and put it on display across Europe and the United States. "Incubator exhibits" showed the public how incubators saved lives. The controversial displays led people to accept this medical innovation. Meet the doctors who invented the incubator, and follow the incubator's fascinating rise with this graphic history.

 

Incubators is a well written and illustrated history of incubators. I have know several families that have benefited from the science of preemie care and incubators, so it was good to get an overview of the different doctors and scientists that have  worked so hard to develop and innovate incubators in order to save the lives of premature infants and other ill or recovering infants that have needed the extra help. The book felt short to me, mainly because I know there must have been so much involved in the initial builds for prototypes and  getting everything right. Some of the trail and error is covered in the book, but I felt like this was a well done overview of important people and moments in the history of incubators. I think the book offers readers a great start on the topic, and explains everything very well. The illustrations are extremely well done, with a good page lay out to balance the text. I really liked that the author included source notes, suggestions for further reading, a glossary, and an index. Sadly these are things often overlooked. 

 

Incubators is a well written and drawn history of incubators. It is accessible and engaging for a wide ranging audience.