Book excerpt: This unique manual is a “surgical cookbook” designed to provide clear and concise guidance for trainees in pediatric surgery. With the aid of simple line drawings depicting each operative step, more than one hundred frequently performed procedures are explained and demonstrated. The reader will learn how to perform each procedure effectively and safely, avoiding potential complications. The full range of surgery is covered, including basic surgical skills, day surgery procedures, emergency surgery procedures and minimally invasive surgery. The book will be of value not only to trainees in pediatric surgery but also to trainees in general surgery, theatre nurses, parents and carers.