Peek Inside Dr. Fauci’s Picture Book Biography

View excerpts from the illustrated story of young Anthony Fauci’s journey: from ‘sewer baseball’ to ‘America’s doctor.’

by Kate Messner, Alexandra Bye, on September 24, 2021

a book cover of an illustrated doctor in a white coat and in the background is an illustration of him as a child riding a bike from a pharmacy. the cover reads "Dr. Fauci: How A Boy From Brooklyn Became America's Doctor," written by Kate Messner, illustrated by Alexandra ByeThe following is an excerpt from Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Alexandra Bye.

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a colorfully illustrated drawing of a boy pointing up at fish at an aquarium. on the top right white text reads "anthony fauci was always asking questions, wondering about the world. from the tropical fish in his bedroom aquarium..."
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an illustrated city block in brooklyn inn orange and teal tones. kids play baseball in the street, and one of the young boys stands atop a manhole cover to a sewer. the text in the upper left reads "his neighborhood was full of tough guys, and anthony wasn't that big. but he learned to get along with everyone. he was good at talking to people, and listening, too. the boys compared notes about their favorite baseball players and played stickball in the streets. who could hit the ball the farthest? they measured by sewers—really, by the manhole covers that led down to the city sewers, spaced about a hundred feet apart. if you hit the ball past one sewer, you were pretty good. but two sewers? that was impressive. anthony was proud to be a two-sewer guy.
an illustration of high school boys playing basketball in a gym. a shorter player is dribbling a ball. the text reads: "anthony loved basketball, too, but he was shortner than the other players. how could he compete? he thought about that problem and realized the solution was speed. he couldn't shoot the ball over his opponents, but he could dash past them. one of his teammates said he was so quick, he could dribble through a brick wall! anthony might have been short, but the other guys looked up to him. they admired his determination and the way he could talk to everyone, so they chose anthony to be the captain of the team."
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a two page spread in color and illustrated from a book. on the left page is an empty city street with a bus stop with a sign that reads "masks save lives" on the bottom left corner of the page, the text reads "a virus too tiny to see had stopped the whole world in its tracks. where had it come from? why was it spreading so quickly? how could anyone stay safe?" on the right page, is a doctor isolated in a circle. he's writing pn a paper and looking at a computer screen. at the top of the page the text reads "people wanted answers—and at first Dr. fauci simply didn't have them. more and more people got sick. but there had to be a solution." below the image of the doctor are the words in gold and blue large letters "don't get discouraged. think about it carefully. try to work it out."

Excerpted from Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor written by Kate Messner and illustrated by Alexandra Bye. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

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Meet the Writers

About Kate Messner

Kate Messner is author of Dr. Fauci: How A Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor. She’s based on Lake Champlain, in New York.

About Alexandra Bye

Alexandra Bye is a designer and illustrator of the children’s book “Dr: Fauci: How a Boy From Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor.”

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