The Snuggery couldn’t allow National Nurses Appreciation Week to go by, and that would be May 6th -May 12th, without a salute to “Nurse Nancy,” by Kathryn Jackson with pictures by Corinne Malvern.

Appearing amid the Little Golden Book Series in 1952, it relates the charming tale of young Nancy.

Nancy liked to play with dolls.

She liked to play Mother. She liked to play Teacher. And best of all she liked to play Nurse.

Nancy even has the sweetest blue and white pinstriped nurse uniform with matching cap, topped with a snow white pinafore.

Her doll hospital is at the ready and fully stocked with band aids and plenty of “handy candy pills.”

But, alas the waiting room is empty. The boys tearing past the house at play never have time to stop and join in playing with her. All they can do is call out a hurried, “Nurse Nancy” in greeting, on the fly.

Nancy is content to aid Mother’s hurt finger as she carefully assesses and addresses her first case.

But, wait just a minute! More patients may be in the offing as one boy’s fly ball hits a bees’ nest and the angry buzzers give chase.

Nurse Nancy opens the door to her house in the nick of time as the boys pile in. But, Tom has fallen in the mad dash to escape the flying horde of bees. A scraped knee has Nurse Nancy at the ready.

Nancy directs Tom primly to lay down as she dampens and soaps up a cloth to clean his wound. Propping a pillow under his leg, she washes it off carefully.

No smiling Tom yet. Not until a brightly colored bandage is applied.Suddenly Nurse Nancy is looked on with pride and respect and instead of dashing off, the boys put together a red wagon and dubbed the ambulance, it’s complete with clanging bell.

And suddenly, the boys are into this game, as Nurse Nancy’s play phone rings with a make-believe accident that sends the ambulance to the rescue.

Billy is flopped down beneath the tree.

Tom is made ambulance diver and Dan is the doctor, which by the way, sets up the Golden Book to follow, called “Doctor Dan.”

Billy has such a good time being cared for and eating the red and green candy pills Nurse Nancy carefully doles out, that the boys now cannot wait for their turn.

Kathryn Jackson story is familiar to anyone of a certain age and can still hold the attention of young readers today who have yet to discover her.

Corinne Malvern’s pictures are very relatable for young readers. The scenes both outside and in are filled with things that push the story forward and outline it in charming and colorful detail.

Any Baby Boomer is probably very familiar with the Little Golden Book series which, at their outset, sold for some 29 cents, if it can be believed.

Some may find it a bit dated and ask “Why does Nancy play the Nurse and Dan in the sequel, gets to play the Doctor, with Nurse Nancy as his assistant?

First of all this is 1952. And perhaps many young girls did have aspirations of being a doctor, and others had dreams of being a Nurse Nancy.

And both are life-savers today as we are fully aware in the Covid-19 pandemic; and many of the doctors are women. But, ask any doctor you know in a hospital, if he or she could function without the eye, ears, TLC and diagnostic skills and instincts of his Nurse Nancys?

If they are being honest, his or her answer would be a resounding, NO!

And there are also Nurse Neds on the scene in the hospitals today !

And so, to my own Nurse Nancy in our family whose name is Jenn, a big thank you for all that you do and are.

The world needs your healing and helping hands – plus your TLC.