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Dr. Bookworm features children's book reviews from a pediatrician's point of view. We also host read-alongs of favorite books.

Categories

  • An Introduction
  • Book Groupings
  • Book Review
  • Book Versus Film
  • Book Versus Movie
  • Bookish Topics
  • Creative Endeavors
  • Doctor Bookworm Reads
  • Doctorly Musings
  • Dr.Bookworm Book Rec
  • ENDINGS first
  • Epic Read-Along
  • Featured Fridays
  • First Pages
  • Flashback Friday
  • Gift Lists
  • Giveaway!
  • Little Lion Likes
  • Milestones
  • Music to Boogie To
  • NonMedical Medical Advice
  • The Skinny on this Writer
  • Young Writers & Dreamers


Authors

  • Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Dr. Bookworm
Get Your Read On
Eeeeeeeeeek! Spiders! And Olive and Beatrix.
Mar 25

Mar 25 Eeeeeeeeeek! Spiders! And Olive and Beatrix.

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

Dr. Bookworm reviews Olive and Beatrix: The Not-So-Itty-Bitty Spiders by Amy Marie Stadelmann.

Do writers live forever?
Mar 21

Mar 21 Do writers live forever?

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings, Bookish Topics

Dr. Bookworm discusses the death of children's book writer Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and also Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air.

Choosing to Be a Woman Warrior
Mar 9

Mar 9 Choosing to Be a Woman Warrior

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review, Doctorly Musings

Dr. Bookworm reviews a classic, The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, in honor of Women in History Month.

Little Lion's Writers' Workshop Piece
Mar 7

Mar 7 Little Lion's Writers' Workshop Piece

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings

Dr. Bookworm shares a Writers' Workshop piece written and illustrated by Little Lion that discusses her big (little) sister. Posted with her permission.

Speaking of hats......
Mar 2

Mar 2 Speaking of hats......

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Bookish Topics, Epic Read-Along

In honor of Read Across America for Dr. Seuss's birthday, we offer two read-along videos of Dr. Seuss and Dr. Seuss-related books to read-along with the Bookworm family.

We Found a Hat
Feb 28

Feb 28 We Found a Hat

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

Dr. Bookworm reviews Jon Klassen's We Found a Hat.

I'm a Doctor, Not a Cop
Feb 23

Feb 23 I'm a Doctor, Not a Cop

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings

Dr Bookworm discusses Proposition 187 and why doctors (and teachers) should NOT have mandatory reporting of undocumented immigrants.

Ain't It a Glorious Day?
Feb 21

Feb 21 Ain't It a Glorious Day?

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

Dr. Bookworm reviews Mary Poppins: Up, Up and Away by Helene Druvert.

The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles
Feb 16

Feb 16 The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

Dr. Bookworm reviews The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michell Cuevas and illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

Falling for the First Time
Feb 14

Feb 14 Falling for the First Time

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Groupings, Book Review

"Which book reminded you what it was like to fall in love?  Or which book did you fall in love with? " Dr. Bookworm polls her family and friends in this curated LOVE booklist. 

The Wonderful Things You Will Be
Feb 10

Feb 10 The Wonderful Things You Will Be

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

Dr. Bookworm reviews The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin

National Women Physician's Day Part 2
Feb 9

Feb 9 National Women Physician's Day Part 2

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings

Dr. Bookworm talks about what National Women Physician's Day means to her.

National WHAT day?
Feb 7

Feb 7 National WHAT day?

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings

Dr. Bookworm talks about her experience with sexual harassment as a medical student.

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
Feb 2

Feb 2 Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

A book review of Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

You May Say I'm a Dreamer
Jan 31

Jan 31 You May Say I'm a Dreamer

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings, Creative Endeavors

Dr. Bookworm muses about her imaginative daughter. 

Multicultural Children's Book Day
Jan 27

Jan 27 Multicultural Children's Book Day

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Groupings, Book Review

Dr. Bookworm discusses two of her favorite picture books that feature diverse characters in honor of Multicultural Children's Book Day.

Happy Birthday, Macy!
Jan 26

Jan 26 Happy Birthday, Macy!

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Doctorly Musings
  Sidewalk Flowers
Jan 24

Jan 24 Sidewalk Flowers

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Groupings, Book Review

Dr. Bookworm reviews Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith

Little Lambs x 2 Also Known as Piggie and Monkey
Jan 19

Jan 19 Little Lambs x 2 Also Known as Piggie and Monkey

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Review

Borrowing from my sister's bookshelf: Dr. Bookworm reviews Little Lamb: Finger Puppet Book by Chronicle Books, a book she borrowed from her sister's bookshelf.

A-B-C easy as 1-2-3
Jan 17

Jan 17 A-B-C easy as 1-2-3

Melanie Tioleco-Cheng
Book Groupings, Book Review

Dr. Bookworm talks about her family's favorite ABC books.

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Dr. Bookworm

My bookstack and me dressed in blue for World Autism Day 

#drbookworm #bookstack #autism #autismawareness #raiseareader
We officially have a rainbow teen.  Not a rainbow baby, not a rainbow child, but a rainbow TEEN.  That also means that my Macy Button is 14 years old, and my Little Lion has just turned 13. 

It took me a long time before I found out that the term ra
From my rainy day Mulan disneybound a few weeks ago. Finally got my Mulan ‘castle’ loungefly a bit ago. 😃 Please note my reluctant Mushu. 

#drbookworm #disneybound #disneyboundtowork #mulan
I forgot to post the last of my I-Support-Trans-Rights- Not-Hogwarts-Pride-Days pictures! From a few days ago, here are some books featuring trans or non-binary characters. 

šŸ“– The Deep and Dark Blue by Niki Smith
šŸ“– Magical Boy by The Kao
šŸ“– Cemete
Did you know that the character of Ursula was partially inspired by an actor and drag queen named Divine? 

Continuing my anti-Hogwarts House pride days to support the LGBTQ+ community. 

Also, I somehow have two copies of the wonderful Blackout.  If
Bi crossing the bifrost! In today’s boycott of Hogwarts house pride days, I feel a bit remiss because Loki would fit right in. But I earnestly believe that Slytherins would support trans rights and not transphobia. Btw, I’m told that Loki
This is the week when I usually would dress up for each Hogwarts house pride day. This year, I’m supporting LGBTQ+ rights. 

#everyonewelcome #lgtbqpride #lgtbqally #ally #doctorbookworm
Happy International Women’s Day! It happens to coincide with Women in History day at Little Lion’s school. Today I represented Mabel Ping Hua Lee, a lesser known suffragist who happened to be a Chinese American teen activist. 

She led a
FOURTEEN
Squirt:
Warm belly hugs
Guitar music and toddler singing
Teary nights
Loving warm hands
Warm meals and sad smiles
A circle surrounding me, surrounding you
With nothing but love
Three chromosomes
Many anomalies
‘Incompatible’ with
#Caturday A latergram as Little Lion is still fast asleep.
Waves of Grief:
They say that grief comes in waves and I can understand that metaphor. This month is January, typically the hardest month of the year for me as it is when Macy was born and when she died. 

This year—this year I’m feeling
They say you should never meet your heroes.  It’s a trope for a reason. (And one  which one character mutters about another in the Wednesday series…. no spoilers.) Luckily we haven’t had to live that trope yet. 

Every time we&rsqu

Dr Bookworm is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com. Any money earned through affiliate advertising will go toward the maintenance of the site, book/prize giveaways, and/or book donations.

***** 11/2025: I’m currently in the process of switching links to Bookshop.org, which supports indie bookstores. Here is my affiliate link, or copy and paste this in your browser https://bookshop.org/shop/drbookworm. Thank you! *****

Site, text, and pictures are copyright 2016-2025 by Melanie Tioleco-Cheng, unless otherwise noted and posted with permission. Guest comments and postings are property of their respective authors.

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