Medical comic books for kids explain serious diseases

Children affected by serious diseases and medical conditions either personally or in their families often don’t really understand those illnesses or the treatments required to fight them. New Zealand-based Kidzcomics aims to change all that with a series of comic books designed to explain medical information for children. The Medikidz series features five superheroes by the same name, each of them a specialist in a different part of the body. With stories designed to be fun and appealing, the comics aim to entertain as well as educate children about serious medical issues. Conditions covered in the Medikidz line so far include leukemia, epilepsy, diabetes, HIV and ADHD, among many others; rather than “sugar-coating” the topics, Kidzcomics’ books aim to empower and educate children for better self-management and less fear. All content is written by professional medical writers and doctors and then peer-reviewed. Pricing is GBP 6.99 per comic book. There are currently more than 50 million children afflicted by illness in English-speaking countries alone, Kidzcomics says. Who will offer something similar in other languages for other parts of the world? Spotted by: Kendall Flutey