Lisa and the Mystery of the Little White Globules
A Story about Homeopathy for Children – by Jörg Wichmann
56 pages, hb 
$16.40
publication 2011
product no. 10733
ISBN: 978-3-941706-84-2
9783941706842
Publisher – Narayana
Book Review by Alan V. Schmukler
I have a grandson ten years old who was reared on homeopathy. Whenever he’s feeling sick he comes over and asks for a remedy. He’s a whiz at computers (I have an old photo of him surfing the web in a diaper!). He’s quite down to earth and very sense oriented. “Michael, do you see the bear in the sky”, I asked? “They’re clouds, Alan”. I’ve been putting off teaching him homeopathy, not sure how to explain the abstract concept of vital force, among other things. What are the right metaphors to explain this to kids? In the back of my mind was the hope that someone would write a book about homeopathy for children.
Finally someone did, and it arrived last week , Lisa and the Mystery of the Little White Globules by Jorg Wichmann. The first thing I was reminded of, was that children’s books are short, usually 40 pages or less. So how do you cram the basics of homeopathy into such a short space? One way is to put it in the context of a story, which is what Wichmann did. A young girl with a chronic, itching rash takes advice from a friend and ends up at a homeopath’s office. She asks the homeopath lots of questions about this strange medicine, and his answers are the book’s explanation of homeopathy. Her experience in the office introduces the case taking process. The doctor, portrayed as a kind hearted soul, uses the familiar computer metaphor to explain how the “globules” store information. After taking the remedy the girl experiences an initial aggravation, which introduces that concept also.
Drama requires some conflict, so we have the young girl’s father being a skeptic initially. He’s finally won over when the homeopath cures his horse of colic, which reveals that homeopathy works for animals also.
The book, which also includes four very brief remedy pictures and a glossary of eight terms, is child friendly and nicely illustrated for young children.
There’s so much more that might be said in explaining homeopathy, but as a practical, first introduction for children, it definitely succeeds.
Maybe this book should be translated in different languages…?