The Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia (Kingfisher First Reference) - Hardcover

Grade 3-5-Earning high marks for visual appeal, this introduction to human anatomy features photos of bright-faced children posed on every page, along with plenty of informative, color-enhanced views of insides and outsides. The arrangement is topical, tending toward the one-topic-per-spread format but with larger subjects given more space; one spread is devoted to the structure of the human hand, the nervous system gets four (five if you count one on "Sleep"), and reproduction, from "Egg and Sperm" to "Similarities," takes up six. The text is blocked into scattered paragraphs of, at most, a half dozen sentences, and for all its brevity is pleasantly precise and specific, e.g., "In the cortex and medulla [of the kidney] there are about one million tiny filtering units called nephrons." Each spread includes cross-references, and many also feature simple demonstrations or activities. Concluding with a gathering of surprising facts, a glossary, a three-page quiz ("Your lungs are spongy because they are filled with millions of tiny air bags called: a) alveoli; b) ravioli; c) aioli"), and a spare but not perfunctory index, this engaging alternative to Steve Parker's Human Body (DK, 1993) and like surveys will enhance young inquirers' understanding of, and appreciation for, their marvelous bodies.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.