From gods in white coats to wounded healers: Representations of doctors in picturebooks

Picturebooks can have many aims beyond simply entertaining children, and collectively can tell stories beyond the narrative of any one book. One such story is the evolution of doctors and medical professionals in popular consciousness – from paternalistic authority figures, predominantly white and male, to diverse caregivers from all manner of backgrounds. The present study looks at how doctors and their practice, in hospitals and in homes, have been represented in picturebooks since the foundation of the British National Health Service in 1948, and explores how recent picturebooks have sought to convey a more realistic representation of the work, lives and challenges of twenty-first-century medical practitioners.