The little medicus

Little Medicus is a book for children and young people by Dietrich Grönemeyer . With the publication in 2005, the author and professor of radiology wanted to create a new genre that combines the non-fiction character in the health sector with science fiction and novel elements, including non -fiction and novel illustrations and photos ( edutainment / meditainment).

The book is aimed primarily at children between the ages of 6 and 14 (but also parents and grandparents) and also offers pedagogically prepared teaching materials for primary school and first grades of secondary schools. “The little medicus” is also suitable as a reading book.

In the following years, a wide variety of cross-media adaptations and further developments built on the success of 2005. To date, three more books have been published in the “Little Medicus” series.

content

The little medicus conveys many medical messages and postulates by Dietrich Grönemeyer: high-tech and naturopathy must be combined with loving medicine, the focus is on people. The author introduces his young readers to the secrets of their bodies and explains what they can do themselves to live healthily and to benefit from the benefits of medicine. At the same time, CT and MRT images and high-resolution microscope photos of cells and organs are used to visualize the inner beauty of people as vividly as possible.

The focus is on the "little medicus", a rather small boy named Nanolino. He has a grumpy grandfather and a smart grandmother, Grandma Rosa, who provides him with traditional advice, naturopathic recipes and warmth of the heart. One day Nanolino meets the doctor Dr. X, who brings him up to date with the latest medical knowledge. When Nanolino meets his ingenious assistant Micro Minitec, who has invented a very special device, the boy begins an adventurous journey. One that leads him right into the fantastic world of the human body. The first voyage of discovery is followed by another, this time the task is to save the grandfather. The evil Prof. Schlotter, Nano's dramaturgical counterpart, had sent a miniaturized robot into its body to control it. Nano is successful, but the end of the book already suggests: the sequel is programmed.

Important characters

Nano / lino

The main and identification figure for young readers. Nano experiences the voyages of discovery as the first "corponaut" or "bodynaut" in the human body. He is inquisitive, but a normal boy with worries and fears.

Marie Sonntag, Nano's sister

She understands Nano's concerns best. A great sister, even if she annoys her brother sometimes. Marie sings when she is happy and helps her brother with his adventures.

Grandfather Erwin

A grumpy old man who always worries what the neighbors think. After his daughter's husband died, his daughter and her children (Nano and Marie) moved in with him.

Micro Minitec

An ingenious scientist who invented a “microtizing machine” with which people can be shrunk to millimeter size.

Dr. X

Called "the X-ray vision", is actually called Dr. Heinz Xiang. His name means luck. His father was American of German descent and his mother was Chinese. Dr. X explains a lot about the body and the state of medical research to Nano.

Professor Götz von Schlotter

The devious opponent of Dr. X, Micro Minitec and Nano. The megalomaniac professor strives for world domination and experiments with the psyche and body of people against their will.

Editions and translations

The first edition of the “Little Medic” stayed on the Spiegel bestseller list for 48 weeks , including 10 weeks in 2005 and 2006 at number 1 on the Spiegel bestseller list .

The book was also in 18th place in the ranking of the bestsellers of the decade (source: Spiegel, Kultur, 53/2009).

“Der kleine Medicus” became the “annual bestseller” in 2006 in the field of medical literature.

The book has been published in eleven countries.

With his work “Der kleine Medicus” the author addresses children and young people in particular. The adventure story of the little medicus, alias Nanolino, serves as a vehicle to give children and young people unfamiliar insights into the processes and functions of the human body. When traveling through the body, u. a. the digestive and musculoskeletal system described and explained in an easily understandable way. In addition, the subject of disease and health studies plays an important role. Here the author combines traditional medicine right through to his specialty, interventional radiology , with traditional recipes and applications of naturopathy . The "little medicus" served as the initial spark for the establishment of the Dietrich Grönemeyer Foundation gGmbH for prevention and health promotion. This was launched by the author in 2007.

The goals are to promote children's health and to establish health lessons: for example, through one hour of exercise and sport every day in every school. Other projects of the foundation focus not only on prevention but also on rehabilitation . For years, the doctor has been committed to imparting more knowledge to children and adults about the body, its functions, healthy nutrition and the connection between body, soul and spirit. As part of the foundation's work, the Kleiner Medicus books serve as a didactically prepared, teaching-accompanying element for imparting knowledge. The book is intended to give an example of how health lessons can be made informative and exciting at the same time.

In addition to “The Little Medic” (2005) and “The New Adventures of the Little Medic” (2007), Dietrich Grönemeyer wrote other bestsellers in the field of health literature. These include: “Stay human”, “My back book”, “Live with heart and soul” or “Grönemeyer's new house book of health” and “Your heart”.

Literary successor

Little Medic's New Adventures (2007)

Nanolino and his friends have gotten older. Once again, Nanolino is microtized - aka miniaturized - and as the first “corponaut” in the world, it makes its way into joints, cells and the brain. In search of the incomprehensible: the soul. The young readers experience how Nano falls in love for the first time, how he explores his nose, ears and other sensory organs and how he once again struggles with Professor Schlotter's evil nano-robots. In the second book of the Medicus series, the combination of non-fiction and entertainment is also a style defining feature.

The ABC of the Little Physician's Body (2007)

After his adventures in the human body in "The Little Physician" and "The New Adventures of the Little Physician", Dietrich Grönemeyer published "The ABC of the Little Physician" as a supplementary reference work. In addition to detailed information on the body parts, the author is not only looking into entertaining questions for children such as: Why do you get bruises ? How often does the heart beat or how do boogers get up their noses? The body ABC of the little medicus is arranged according to subject areas: With the subjects of circulation , metabolism , movement and control, all areas of the body are explored. Useful pictures illustrate the information. Puzzles and games loosen up the topics and consolidate newly acquired knowledge. There are also many tips for self-help: What to do if you have a fever or diarrhea ? What will help if you have a sprained ankle or if your head falls?

We Better Eaters (2012)

The most recent successor to the Medicus series is dedicated to the topic of healthy nutrition. The author concentrates on easily digestible, general basic information in order to bring his (young) readers closer to eye level with the doctor. The book title "Wir Besser-Eaters" is not intended to be used as a demarcation, it is not about knowing better, emphasizes the author. Rather, the “we” is aimed at a comprehensive approach to children and adults on the way to healthy eating, beyond all dogmatics. According to Dietrich Grönemeyer, scientific studies show that children can learn much better when they are having fun with what they do. According to the author, this also includes exercise and sport, partying, dancing, singing and laughing. All of these elements can be found in "We Better Eaters".

With six primary school children, the "mini reporters", the author undertakes an expedition to the most varied of scenes of healthy eating. He is again accompanied by his assistant, the "little medicus". Together they research how food is made, how it is processed and prepared, what the organs do with it, what fruit, vegetables, meat and fish are used for and why it is so important to enjoy healthy food. In funny dialogues, teasing arguments with the insatiable "Spekki Bulletti", a big "eating badger", on fantastic journeys through the digestive tract and on trips to the farm, readers learn how to eat better. Historical reminiscences and detours into history round off the picture of a dining culture in which table manners are not neglected either. There are favorite recipes, practical tips for cooking and explanations of the various components of the diet combined with naturopathic knowledge.

The “mini reporters” are characters that the author introduced to bring the topic closer to children. These mini reporters are only based on real children who would have participated in training to become so-called health ambassadors as part of the activities of the Dietrich Grönemeyer Foundation. In the style of the Little Medicus, the mini reporters experience a journey of food through the body and report from the body as "corponaut reporters". There are also many conversations with the "Doc" and the little medicus. Like Prof. Schlotter with the Little Medicus, the counterpart must not be missing here either: “Spekki Bulletti”.

"Wir Besser Eaters" is divided into six school hours and several breaks and is ideal as teaching material for schools.

Processing

musical

The health musical was developed on the basis of the book and performed in various major German cities. This is not a pure musical, but again a work in which the pedagogical and didactic impetus is in the foreground and is combined with dramaturgically entertaining elements. The premiere was on November 15, 2009 in Hamburg. Further performances of the more than two-hour and very elaborate musical take place u. a. in Hanover, Stuttgart, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, Bochum and Duisburg.

With his books about the little medicus, Dietrich Grönemeyer wants to take away the fear of the doctor from the children. He wants to familiarize them with the functions of their own body and motivate them to take responsibility for their own health. The family musical “Der Kleine Medicus” based on the Medicus books, the script was created in collaboration with Hans-Jürgen Netz , is the continuation of efforts to ensure health education as early as possible. Reinhard Horn was also part of the family musical : "Understand children, take them seriously and put them at the center of society" - this is the goal of the children's songwriter and composer Horn. Regarding the composition of the little medicus, the Comenius and UNESCO laureate said: "The challenge was to give the important messages and roles a musical expression, to compose 'catchy tunes' at the same time, to develop a dramaturgy and to remain family-friendly." familiarize yourself with the secrets of your own body and explain what you can do yourself to live healthily and make use of the achievements of modern medicine. With computer-controlled stage sets and technically sophisticated projections, surprisingly new, breathtakingly beautiful interior views of the body are shown.

Medi-Circus

The Medi-Circus, a health musical also for smaller stages, is based on Grönemeyer's great musical “Der Kleine Medicus” - the first ever children's health musical. The interactive theater Medi-Circus is a shortened form of the musical and a project of the Dietrich Grönemeyer Foundation. The focus is again on nano. Topics include a .: Health classes, music, exercise and artistry - all with lots of entertainment elements.

By identifying with the little nano, the Medi-Circus wants to playfully lead children to more health awareness. Exercise, healthy food and the joy of life - that's what the one-hour show is all about. Interactive elements draw children into the action, just as nano is drawn into the microcosm of the human body. But the Medi-Circus does not end with the red curtain, because: The curtain is the starting gun. There is also a choice of workshops with acrobatics and juggling courses at each location for the stage play. With dance and singing activities for the children and specially designed relaxation and movement workshops for educators.

In November and December 2012, the Medi-Circus reached 52 Hessian schools with its medical messages and thus more than 5000 students. This was followed by a coastal tour on the North and Baltic Seas in July 2013. In September, the Medi-Circus finally climbed the school stages in North Rhine-Westphalia and, together with the Northeast Tour, drew more than 10,000 spectators to the performances. Germany's only health musical is largely supported and promoted by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). So it is not only the stage, but also free admission.

The Medicus health games

How can sport and play be combined with health education? The Dietrich Grönemeyer Foundation has developed the Medicus Health Games project for this purpose: In cooperation with sports clubs, the Foundation organizes regional health days in all federal states, to which it invites schools from all over the region. This initiative of the foundation was started with the sports club Bayer Wuppertal. So far, these games have been successfully held seven times in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Hesse - in Hesse in a private-public partnership (PPP) with the Ministry of Education and the AOK.

Course of the event: Up to 1,500 children in eight groups go through a variety of stations that focus on the topics of back training, metabolism, nutrition, cardiovascular system, muscles and exercise. How does the body work? How do you move and eat properly? How do you relax? The aim of the project is the playful transfer of knowledge. The health games aim to motivate children and teachers to listen to their bodies and - with fun - to get it moving. All of this without performance stress and a raised index finger. The subjects of exercise, sport and well-being, physical and mental health should come on the schedule.

Audio books

• Der kleine Medicus (2006), Der Hörverlag
• The new adventures of the little medicus (2007), Der Hörverlag

Games

• (Selection): “Der kleine Medicus”, game for the PC (2006), Cornelsen Verlag
• “The little medicus”, experiment box (2007), Kosmos Verlag
• “Der kleine Medicus”, board game (2007), Kosmos Verlag
• “The little medicus”, travel game (2008), Kosmos, publishing house
• "Erwin, the little patient", rag dolls and educational toys, Sigikid

music

• Der kleine Medicus - CD for children's songs for the musical of the same name (2009), Edel Records

Film adaptations

On October 30, 2014 came the small Medicus - Bodynauten on a secret mission in the body as a 3-D - animation , content and appearance modified, in the cinemas. The film adaptation was awarded the Curt Siodmak Prize for the best German science fiction production in 2015.

About the content: The twelve-year-old Nano witnesses a sinister act: The nasty Professor Schlotter injects his grandpa with the gobot, a tiny robot, so that he can control his victim remotely. Nano wants help with Dr. Get X, his family's doctor. But also in the practice of Dr. X incredible things are going on. Together with Micro Minitec, a brilliant scientist, the doctor has developed a microtization process with which he shrinks a submarine and sends it on a medical voyage of discovery through the human body. Together with his girlfriend Lilly, Nano can be downsized and embarks on the risky journey into the body of his grandfather to defeat the Gobot. But Professor Schlotter and his assistant Serge don't give up anytime soon. They storm Dr. X 'practice and bring scientists into their power. Now Nano and Lilly are on their own inside Nano's grandfather's body. There they not only have to compete against the gobot, but also withstand dangerous killer cells, the corrosive stomach acid and the confusing labyrinth of the brain. And time is of the essence, the oxygen in the submarine is limited. It's a good thing that there is the talking pink guinea pig, Rappel, who still has an account with Professor Schlotter.

Also published: Der kleine Medicus , DVD for the musical, Covermount, Focus Schule, 2009

Others

The author regularly makes the “young doctor” Nanolino a topic in his readings at children's universities . A particularly large health project around the little medicus finds its way into the Guinness Book of Records : In 2009 Dietrich Grönemeyer teaches "the largest school class in the world" with almost 10,000 children and young people in the SAP Arena in Mannheim. The Dietrich Grönemeyer Foundation, founded by the author in 2007, uses the "Little Medicus" to support foundation projects such as training to become a health ambassador (in cooperation with the Hessian Ministry of Culture ), the health games or the "Medi-Circus" project (cooperation partner Techniker Krankenkasse , TK), to make children aware of their body and their health.

Reception / Awards

“A compelling expedition. Participants and readers do not even notice the ease with which they learn anatomy and biochemistry on the way. "(Die Zeit)

"The prominent doctor is really good at explaining medical terms for children and adolescents (and their parents)." (Stern)

“What sounds like an adventure story for children is a book by Dietrich Grönemeyer, professor at the University of Witten / Herdecke, who should be known to most people as the author of bestsellers such as 'People stay' or 'My back book'. He advocates holistic medicine that combines high-tech medicine with natural healing methods. This book is similarly holistic, and not only wants to show the inner worlds of the body, but also explains what various diagnostic methods are all about, what is tonsillitis and what grandmother has in her medicine cabinet for it. In this way, the young readers (certainly also many older ones) not only get to know the human anatomy, but also learn how the body works, which disorders there can be and what the patient and doctor can do about it. In this way, Grönemeyer not only provides up-to-date medical knowledge, but also an awareness of one's own body and how to deal responsibly with it. And in the end, Nano even goes looking for the soul in grandfather's body, but the outcome of this story is not yet revealed. "(Henrik Flor, literaturtest.de)

Web links

• The little medicus
• The little medicus, homepage for the film

Individual references / sources

1. ↑ More sport. That would help!
2. ^ "Health for Germany" ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ "School & Health - a field of activity of the Hessian Ministry of Culture"
4. ↑ "The SAP ARENA as the largest school class in the world"

swell

• “We Besser-Eaters”, interview with Andrea Kleiner, February 2012, Düsseldorf, city magazine
• "Doctor with heart and soul"; A personal reading book, Fischer paperback
• Program for the musical, Der Kleine Medicus, 2009
• Video, youtube, the KLM at the Frankfurt Book Fair, October 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C6nNYfZ0iI
• “The Great Medicus”, Petra Koruhn, WAZ, July 5, 2007
• From: Blog, Health Ambassador Training in Bochum, on www.dgstiftung.de, November 8, 2013
• "Eat healthy, exercise a lot", Knuts Klartext für Kinder, NRZ, August 12, 2013
• Book Favorite , Award, 2006 in the category "Health, Wellness, Sport"
• “Der kleine Medicus”, DVD for the musical, cover mount, Focus Schule, 2009
• Health ambassadors, see also www.dgstiftung.de, projects section
• Grönemeyer's nutrition book with the little medicus, June 19, 2012, www.focus.de/kultur/bücher
• Carpe librum, Der kleine Medicus, Martina Meier, http://rezensions.literaturwelt.de/content/buch/g/t_groenemeyer_dietrich_der_kleine_medicus_mame_15797.html