YOU ARE WEIRD

Holes in your head? Leaky skin? Recyclable muscles? This collection of curious facts about the body describes a variety of human body parts, focusing on some that appear to do little or nothing—such as pouch muscles, wisdom teeth, tail bone and palmaris and plantaris muscles—and others that behave in surprising ways—such as intestinal bacteria, skin cells and sweat. Colorfully illustrated by Boake with humorously distorted figures, the breezy text invites readers to investigate: Find your own palmaris tendon, feel a dog’s canines, practice wiggling your ears. Presented in columns, with accompanying text boxes and “freaky facts,” this is well designed for casual readers. A clear and repeated message is that many of these “oddities” are leftovers from ancient, nonhuman ancestors; similarly clear is that scientists are not certain about the origin or function of curious body parts—they make educated guesses. Sure to appeal to odd bods of all ages. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)