Nurse Nancy to the rescue!
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.
A Little Golden Book published in 1952, written by Kathryn Jackson with illustrations by Corinne Malvern.
Nancy is a little girl who love to play dress-up and pretend — and most of all she loves to play nurse, even if her older brothers are too busy with their boy-games to join in. But when her brother Tom falls and hurts his knee, Nurse Nancy is ready with her new Band-Aid brand plastic strips to make him feel better.
Alongside Doctor Dan the Bandage Man, Nurse Nancy was published in partnership between Little Golden Books publisher Simon & Schuster and the Johnson & Johnson company to promote the sale of Band-Aid brand bandages
to children.
Tropes in Nurse Nancy:
- Alliterative Title: Nurse Nancy (and the little boy's equivalent, Doctor Dan).
- And Your Reward Is Edible: Because Nancy was such a good girl and took care of her brother when he was hurt, Nancy's mother gives her an extra cookie with lunch.
- Candy Striper: Nancy wears a blue-and-white striped dress under an apron with a blue-and-white cross emblem on it, but the sentiment is identical to that of the red-and-white stripes of an authentic Candy Striper uniform. (That sentiment being of a cutesy, earnest girl setting a good example for readers by taking care of the injured.)
- Insistent Terminology: Nancy's got a brand new box of "Band-Aid brand plastic strips," not just any old bandage!
- Merchandise-Driven: The book was created as part of a partnership between Little Golden Books and Johnson & Johnson to promote their line of Band-Aid bandages to children. Although Band-Aids are a genericized trademark today, that wasn't always the case. Band-Aids were first sold by Johnson & Johnson in 1921, they didn't gain popularity (and certainly not market dominance) until several years later. Getting children excited about the product (it comes in fun shapes and colors!), teaching them how to use it (by describing basic first aid), and showing the advantages of using Band-Aid brand bandages over its competitors (slimmer and more comfortable than a gauze dressing, so simple to use a child could do it) was all part of the marketing.
- Product Placement: Nancy is shown using Band-Aid brand bandages to replace the bulky, cumbersome gauze her mother received from her doctor for a little cut on her finger, and to patch up her brother Tom's scraped knee when there are no adults around to administer first aid.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Nancy's brothers Tom, Billy, and Dan accidentally hit a bee's nest while playing baseball. They run away from the swarm to avoid getting stung, but Tom scrapes his knee in their haste to escape.The boys' ball had hit a bees' nest, and angry bees were pouring out.
"Look out!" Tom shouted. "Here they come!" And the three boys came racing towards the house, with the angry bees close behind.
Nancy held the door open while the boys came piling in. Then she slammed it shut on the bees.
