'Incubators: A Graphic History' by Paige V. Polinsky with illustrations by Josep Rural is a graphic novel history of incubators for babies who are born early.

This tells the story of the development of infant incubators. To fund them, the technology and babies were put on display first in Europe, the in the United States. Many improvements came about over time including electricity, oxygen and new technology to make the units more accessible to the world.

This was an interesting read and I liked the approach to learning that it takes. The art is also really great. I like how the artist ages characters over the course of medical advancement.

A informative book about the origins of incubators and how useful/helpful they are. It will definitely be a good choice for inquisitive minds.

Thank you #NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this!

Graphic novels really should be the go to for teaching kids and teens about important historical and technological advances. This book was engaged and so informative. A great read for all.

A great addition to middle grade graphic nonfiction. The graphic format helps bring these topics to life for younger readers who might not have the background experience to be able to picture them without. Lots of great information about the invention and use of incubators.

There are things that we never put a lot of thought into their development and I would certainly put incubators in that class. I imagine most of us don't think about them at all unless we know a child who is born premature. A graphic novel is a great way to share the history of an invention's development. We can visual each step along the way. While this particular book is perhaps overly narrated, the illustrations support the text well.

Incubators by Paige V. Polinsky was a really fun graphic medicine book, though it was definitely written for younger readers than I initially thought - I think it would work best for elementary or middle school students interested in the history of medicine.

Welcome Back!

Somehow the holiday season is already upon us and that is kind of amazing to think about! The year has somehow flown by and I still have so much reading I would like to accomplish. Recently, I was in a graphic novel mood, I have two or three longer graphic novel series that I am not currently caught up on so I have been trying to pick those up a little more but I also kind of wanted something that was a stand alone to read! Something to read before bed just all in one sitting. So instead of picking up the next volume of the one of the graphic novels series I am in the middle of I went over to Netgalley and picked up my E-ARC of Incubators!

SPOILERS AHEAD

This amazingly illustrated graphic novel covers the history of the incubator and how it has been able to help babies all over the world. Starting with the original concept idea for the incubator and showing the reader how this concept turned into a life saving invention. The graphic novel highlights how at one point the incubators were not widely accepted inventions at hospitals and were ran as a separate private business that helped babies in need.

Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was incredibly enlightening and honestly gave me a lot of information I had no idea about. Additionally, I loved the art style and the vibrant colors that were used to help bring the story to life.

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

**Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a short yet very informative graphic novel about the birth of baby incubators. I actually know a lot of people that probably wouldn't be here without the invention!

This was a really well-written children's story about the invention of Incubators and the importance of them and how they progressed from glass boxes heated with fire and boiling water to the amazing, innovated machinery they are today [the last story about the portable incubator that can be recharged simply by immersing it in boiling water was stunning and mind blowing]. It is a great tool for families that have preemies or ill children that are in NICU's and are in incubators in a way that is both educational and entertaining without being frightening or over their heads. It will invoke a lot of conversation and help children have a better understanding of what might be happening within their own family or with a family they may know.

My only issue is with the illustrations - some of them are quite terrifying and not really good depictions of what babies look like [in real life or even an illustration, especially when they are in the incubators] - I found most of them to be disturbing and would want to preface using this with children that they might find the illustrations upsetting.

Overall, this is a very well-written graphic novel that will lead to further conversation and learning.

Thank you to NetGalley, Paige V. Polinsky, Josep Rural [Illustrator] and Learner Publishing Group/
Graphic Universe for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

When I received Incubators to read, I didn't expect too much. I didn't think I would like it, but it caught me off guard. There is a lot of information and history in such a short book. The information was given in a fun and not the too over-my-head technical way. I thoroughly enjoyed the graphic novel, and I plan to use it in my classes. The only reason I gave it four stars is that I did not enjoy the illustrations. They were very simplistic. I would have liked to see something a little different, but it was still enjoyable. Thank you, Netgalley, and the publisher for this ARC.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* such an awesome read! i never knew anything about incubators and never knew they were so old, or caused blindness by giving too much oxygen. the more you know!

This was so interesting! It covers the insight of the history and development of the incubators use. This is great and informative as it includes a glossary.

This is a powerful tale of medical history that is bright and fun and keeps you interested. As someone who survived solely due to incubators at birth I really enjoyed learning through this story. The information is presented in a fun and somewhat lighthearted way despite being pretty heavy source material.

In 1875, Dr. Boudin was unhappy that premature babies were not surviving regardless of what he ask the nurses to do. Dr. Boudin worked under Dr. Tarnier. Dr. Tarnier got an idea when he visited a chic hatchery. He went to Odile Martin to show his idea for what would be the first incubator for babies. His incubator save half the babies from dying. Many in the medical field was doubtful about his invention. Who do you think took over the improvements made for the incubators?

This nonfiction graphic book gives a simple but thorough history of the incubator. I found it quite interesting that there was controversy on the usefulness of incubators. I had never really thought how the incubator came into existence. There is a “source note,” glossary, “for further information,” and index to the book.

This graphic novel is a short history of Incubators and how they started. The target audience is middle grade readers, and it is an excellent adaptation of medical history, written in a fun, colorful way that can hook readers. I especially love that it shows the importance of incubators in history, but presents the information in a way that is friendly to younger readers. It would be an excellent addition to any library's nonfiction section. I really enjoyed the artwork, as it was cute and colorful. I also enjoyed that it shared the history and background of different important people who helped create and utilize incubators throughout history.

The graphic took “Incubators” is a fantastic mix of presenting an important part of medical history in an accessible form for both adults and youngsters.

As someone who has a decent understanding of medical history, I wasn’t as familiar with the history of the incubator as I should have. I knew that the incubator was presented as a side show at Coney Island NY but I hadn’t known how the incubators were presented (which ended up being quite elaborate).

This book is highly recommended for anyone who is curious about the development of baby incubators or has an interest in medical history.

You won’t be disappointed.

Although one in ten babies born in the U.S. is a preemie, most of us give little thought to incubators, a life-saving invention meant to save these tiny individuals.

The book covers the history and development of the incubator in the late 1800's, touching on the fact that for a while, it was possible for the public to see medical innovation at work, as people paid a small fee to watch a roomful of babies lying helpless in their incubators. Despite the sideshow feel of it all, the money helped cover the costs of caring for the infants. When the Coney Island facility finally closed in the early 1940's, nearly 6,500 premature infants had been saved. The book concludes with the more recent development of small, easily portable incubators that can be had for around 25 dollars, making it possible to save babies in developing countries.

The book includes a glossary, bibliography, and index.

I'm not sure how much appeal this will have for the intended age group, but this old lady found it fascinating. I'd certainly like to read more in the Medical Breakthroughs series.

I loved this shirt, educational graphic novel about the history of incubation for premature babies. It is hard to imagine that a life-saving procedure was once considered side-show entertainment at Coney Island!

Incubators is a short graphic novel about the history of incubators and the impact they've had on preemie mortality rates. It begins with the creation of the first incubator and concludes with a low-cost incubator created by Stanford students. that is more accessible than the electronic version. The story includes a glossary and bibliography. The illustrations are delightful and make the story more engaging.