Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Small Steps

The Year I Got Polio

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
0 of 1 copy available

1996 Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction
1997 ALA Notable Books for Children
1997 Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers
1997 Pen Center USA West Literary Award
1998 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award (Vermont)
1998-1999 Mark Twain Award (Missouri)
1998 Joan Fassler Memorial Book Award
1998-1999 Texas Bluebonnet Award, Runner-Up
1998-1999 William Allen White Master Reading List (Kansas)
1998-1999 Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Award Master List
1998-1999 Sequoyah Book Award Master List (Oklahoma)
1998-1999 Volunteer State Book Award Master List (Tennessee)
1998-1999 NH Great Stone Face Children's Book Award Master List
1999 Sasquatch Reading Award Master List (Washington State)
2000-2001 Iowa Children's Choice Awards Master List
2001 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Master List (Illinois)
2001 Young Hoosier Book Award
2015 Bluestem Book Award Master List

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.
Peg Kehret was stricken with polio when she was twelve years old. At first paralyzed and terrified, she fought her way to recovery, aided by doctors and therapists, a loving family, supportive roommates fighting their own battles with the disease, and plenty of grit and luck. With the humor and suspense that are her trademarks, acclaimed author Peg Kehret vividly recreates the true story of her year of heartbreak and triumph.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Levels

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      Starred review from November 1, 1996
      Gr 4-6-Although young readers today might only associate the word "polio" with a vaccination, this well-written account gives them a hard look at the devastating physical and emotional effects of the disease. In l949, there were 42,000 cases reported in the U.S.; the author was the only one stricken in her hometown that year. She writes in an approachable, familiar way, and readers will be hooked from the first page on. The author details her diagnosis, treatment, frustration, and pain. Perhaps the most startling part of the book is her description of the sudden onset of the illness, coming with no warning and leaving her paralyzed. Although this is an excellent record of the progress of the disease, it is also a fascinating account of how an ordinary girl with crushes and homecoming dreams had to live for part of her adolescence in an artificial, restricted environment. In the epilogue, Kehret describes her current battle with post-polio syndrome, and brings readers up to date on the lives of her fellow patients and friends at the Sheltering Arms Hospital. An honest and well-done book.-Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, NY

    • Booklist

      November 1, 1996
      Gr. 3^-5. This heartfelt memoir takes readers back to 1949 when the author, at age 12, contracted polio. Using fictionalized dialogue, she describes her seven-month ordeal--her diagnosis and quarantine, her terrifying paralysis, her slow and difficult recuperation--and the people she encountered along the way. Kehret supplies a few words about the illness in a foreword, but because there is little sense of how medicine has evolved since her hospitalization, some children may find the vivid picture she paints scary indeed. Scary, too, is the epilogue, in which Kehret admits to having post-polio syndrome. Curious children who love Kehret's middle-grade thrillers may pick this up, but since there's little about her life as a writer, it will most likely be children interested in medical issues who will follow through. ((Reviewed November 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.2
  • Lexile® Measure:830
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

Loading
The Beehive Library Consortium is a consortium of member libraries and the Utah State Library Division.Funds for this program were made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Parents should be aware that children have access to all materials in the online library. The Beehive Library Consortium does not monitor or restrict your child's selections. It is your responsibility as a parent to be aware of what your child is checking out and viewing.