Smarty The Brain: Stories by Brian S Hamilton

An interesting collection of short stories meant to be read by caregivers to their preschool children, focused on brain/concussion safety.

The main character of these ten stories is Smarty, a responsible young brain who knows that making sensible choices for his own safety can only help him in the long run. His foil, after a fashion, is the less safety-conscious Moody, whom we learn over the course of the book used to be something of a bully. Fortunately, the friendship he developed with Smarty helped him not only learn how to protect his brain, but also how to be a better person in general. He grows so much as a character that he even helps out his aunt and uncle with the safety of their new baby.

Tbh, I wish Moody’s character arc had been more smoothly described, as it tends to go back and forth over the course of the book. I’m not actually sure what guides the organization of these stories, tho there’s definitely a sense of increased affluence as the book goes on. It begins with fairly standard stuff that almost all kids will experience — biking, vehicle seat belts, babyproofing — before growing increasingly more niche, culminating in safety measures while riding horses and snowmobiles. I get that this is a book for children from all walks of life — brain injuries can happen any time and anywhere, after all — but I was still a little taken aback by the casual treatment of rather pricey expenditures.

And that’s fine! This is not a book that aims to be art, not if the entire bullet-pointed list taken from the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons included in the chapter on skateboarding is anything to go by. The point of this book is definitely to encourage brain trauma prevention in kids and their responsible adults. Towards that end, it does a pretty decent job, with short tales and cute illustrations. Some of the language and concepts definitely seem more geared towards adults rather than kids, but it’s all important stuff, even if it does tend to take on the tone of those pamphlets you get at the pediatrician’s (which, again, is totally fine, if admittedly not the most entertaining.) As a way to encourage the conversation about brain/concussion safety with kids, you could definitely do worse than this oversized yet slender volume.

Smarty The Brain: Stories by Brian S Hamilton was published July 2 2024 by Archway Publishing and is available from all good booksellers, including