Appendectomy
Alex the Appendix explains what an appendix is, walks through surgery day, and hands out a well-earned "Appendectomy Champion" badge.
Pocket Learning Playbooks
Meet the crew who explain the science, one silly face at a time.
Each playbook includes a "what is it" page, a before/during/after story, a maze, a word search, and a certificate for being brave. Every page is free to download and print.
How to print & fold your playbook
Tonsillectomy
The Tonsil Twins guide kids through a tonsillectomy from nervous "before" to popsicle-eating "after," plus a maze and word search.
Ear Tubes (Myringotomy)
A friendly eardrum character explains why ear tubes help, then leads kids through an ear maze and a hospital-room seek-and-find.
Strabismus
Iris & Seymour explain why one eye sometimes looks a different way, what happens on surgery day, and hand out a "Strabismus Champion" badge at the end.
Cholecystectomy
Gale the Gallbladder explains the little sac that holds juice for digestion, why it sometimes needs to come out, and what surgery day looks like from start to finish.
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More coming soon
We're drawing up new organs and procedures every season. Working at a hospital with a specific need?
Request a Playbook
Print & fold
How to print and fold your Pocket Learning Playbook.
Your playbook prints on one sheet of paper and folds into a small booklet your child can hold, color, and take with them. It takes about five minutes.
Printing
- Download the playbook. Save the PDF to your computer.
- Open it in a PDF reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview on Mac, or your web browser all work.
- Set the scale to 100%. This is the one setting that matters. Look for a box labeled Scale, Size, or Page Sizing and choose Actual size or 100%. Do not use "Fit to page" or "Shrink to fit" — those shrink the artwork and the panels won't line up when you fold.
- Choose double-sided. Turn on Print on both sides (sometimes called Two-Sided or Duplex).
- Print one copy and check it. Both sides should be right-side up relative to each other when you flip the sheet top-to-bottom. If the back side is upside down, print again and switch the flip setting — printers label this "flip on long edge" and "flip on short edge."
If your printer doesn't print double-sided: print page 1 first. Mark a small X on one corner so you remember the orientation, then put the sheet back in the paper tray and print page 2. You may need one test sheet to work out which way to load it.
A note on borders: most printers can't print all the way to the edge of the paper, so you may see a thin white border around the outside. This is normal. It won't affect any of the activities.
What you'll need
- One sheet of standard 8.5 × 11 in paper (Letter size)
- Any home or office printer
- Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
- Scissors, if your playbook includes a certificate to cut out
Regular copy paper works fine. If you have slightly heavier paper, the booklet will hold up better to repeated handling.
Folding
Folding Tutorial
- Lay the sheet flat with the cover facing up — the side that says "A Children's Guide" with the name and age lines.
- Fold it in half, top to bottom. Bring the top half behind the sheet, so the cover stays facing you. Run your finger along the crease.
- Fold it in half again, left to right. Bring the left half behind the right half. The cover should now be on the front.
- Press the folds firmly. Run a ruler edge or your thumbnail along each crease so the booklet lies flat.
That's it — you have an eight-page booklet, about the size of a postcard.
If the cover ends up on the inside, unfold the sheet and try folding in the opposite direction. Different printers orient the page differently.
Using the playbook
There's no right order. Some children want to read it start to finish; others go straight to the maze or the coloring pages. Both are fine.
Doing it together is what helps most. Reading the pages aloud and coloring alongside your child gives them a natural opening to ask questions about what's going to happen.
If your playbook has a certificate, cut along the dotted line after the surgery and have a nurse or doctor sign it.
Troubleshooting
The panels don't line up when I fold it.
The print was scaled. Reprint with Scale set to Actual size or 100%.
The back side is upside down.
Reprint and change the double-sided flip setting from long edge to short edge, or the reverse.
Part of the artwork is cut off at the edges.
A small amount of trimming at the edges is expected and by design. If large sections are missing, check that your paper size is set to Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and not A4.
The lines look faded or fuzzy.
Set your print quality to Normal or Best rather than Draft or Economy.
Questions, or want to request a playbook for a procedure we don't cover yet? Get in touch.