A fascinating and inspiring picture book biography about Vivien Thomas, a pioneer of children's heart surgery and trailblazer for Black people in STEM.
Vivien Thomas always loved solving problems and figuring out how things worked. In high school, inspired by his family physician, he decided he would become a doctor. Despite losing his college savings during the 1930 bank panic, Vivien stayed dedicated to making his dream a reality, a trait that would serve him all his life.
Vivien secured a lab assistant position at Vanderbilt University and later moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he and his mentor developed a groundbreaking procedure to cure blue baby syndrome, which led to them performing the first open-heart surgery on a child.
With the power of his passion, perseverance, and dedication to learning (and without any formal college education), Vivien saved thousands of lives.
| ISBN: | 9781481476669 |
| Publication date: | 21st May 2026 |
| Author: | Joan Schoettler |
| Illustrator: | Steffi Walthall |
| Publisher: | Beach Lane Books |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 48 pages |
| Genres: |
Children’s / Teenage general interest: Boys and men Children’s / Teenage general interest: Inventors, inventions and experiments Children’s / Teenage fiction: Biographical fiction / autobiographical stories |
A fascinating and inspiring picture book biography about Vivien Thomas, a pioneer of children's heart surgery and trailblazer for Black people in STEM.
Vivien Thomas always loved solving problems and figuring out how things worked. In high school, inspired by his family physician, he decided he would become a doctor. Despite losing his college savings during the 1930 bank panic, Vivien stayed dedicated to making his dream a reality, a trait that would serve him all his life.
Vivien secured a lab assistant position at Vanderbilt University and later moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he and his mentor developed a groundbreaking procedure to cure blue baby syndrome, which led to them performing the first open-heart surgery on a child.
With the power of his passion, perseverance, and dedication to learning (and without any formal college education), Vivien saved thousands of lives.
A Doctor at Heart features in the following genres: Children’s / Teenage general interest: Boys and men, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Inventors, inventions and experiments, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Biographical fiction / autobiographical stories
A Doctor at Heart is available in Hardback
A Doctor at Heart was written by Joan Schoettler and published by Beach Lane Books
A Doctor at Heart has 48 pages
£11.69