Rescue and Jessica

Written by Jessica Knesky and Patrick Downes

Illustrated by Scott Magoon
Published April 3, 2018

Why we chose this book:
T and I both loved Little Helpers, so when I saw this my interest was piqued. I tend to be very aware of what physical differences and disabilities are present in the picture books we read, which I'll address in the review, and I wanted to read a book that features a main character with two prosthetic legs.

Mom's Review

Jessica adjusts to her prosthetic legs with the help of a service dog, Rescue.

I have strong opinions about physical disabilities/differences represented in children's literature. My brother uses a wheelchair, and in children's books, I want to see more than just a token child with a disability in the back of a classroom. More and more I am seeing children with walkers or wheelchairs in the background in picture books, and I applaud the industry for moving in that direction, but I have seen few where the main character has a disability, or where a character's different physical needs are explained. One would hope children without special needs might understand better those differences if they've already seen them in literature.

Rescue and Jessica is based on the authors' lives. Jessica survived the Boston Marathon bombing, but now uses two prosthetic legs. Her husband also survived and now uses one prosthetic leg. Their service dog, Rescue is integral to their lives. This book is about a little girl who is injured, though readers do not know how. She loses both legs and must learn to use prosthetic legs. When she sees a visitor's service dog, she resolves to get one for herself. Readers are introduced to the dog before the girl is, and are privy to the thoughts of both. When they come together, they find that they have the strength to persevere through exceedingly challenging circumstances despite their initial fears and uncertainty. The happy ending shows Rescue, Jessica, her little brother, and their parents walking over the Charles River in Boston.

The story is compelling, and Jessica and Rescue are both sympathetic but not pitiable. The fears of each are addressed without minimizing them, and their triumphs are applauded without being overdone. When I began reading the story to T and saw that the dog's thoughts were narrated, I was a bit skeptical of how this would play out. By the end, I was duly impressed. Paralleling the dog's training with Jessica's own training to use her prosthetic limbs underscored the challenges faced by each. Back matter elaborates on the real Jessica, including a photograph that T loved seeing, and on NEADS, which trains service dogs. We learned that the real-life Rescue is named after a firefighter from Worcester, which is noteworthy for us living in Worcester! Our geographical proximity to the story's setting excited T to start, and he was extra excited when he found out about Rescue.

And as far as normalizing physical differences? I would say that this book does a stellar job of helping readers understand what it might be like to use a prothesis or work with a service dog through an engaging story.

All in all, an exceptional book!

Son's Review
(age 3)
While reading:
Son: Kids can get robot legs too?

Mom: Yeah. Kids can get prosthetic legs if they need them. If your leg got hurt and couldn't get better, then a doctor could remove it so that your body would be healthy again. Isn't that kind of cool that she has a prosthetic leg?

Son: How does she put on her prophetic leg?

Mom: It kind of suctions on. It's made to fit perfectly just for her.

Son: How did she get out of bed?

Mom: Well, how do you get out of bed? How many legs do you have?

Son: I just hop. Two!

Mom: Does she have two whole legs? What do you think she might have to do to get out of bed?

Son: Noooo. Put on the prophetic leg.

Son: Let's read it again.

After reading:
Mom: You want to read it again? Then you must like it. What did you like about it?

Son: Yeah. Yeah. It made me happy.

Mom: What made you happy?

Son: When the doctor took two legs off...it helped her body.

T wanted to be in the picture for Rescue and Jessica. Here he is showing his pups the book.