POWER UP

Math and science enthusiasts, this one’s for you!

Fishman and Greenberg, the author and illustrator team of A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars (2017), take readers on a journey through the amazing human body, noting that a pinkie finger “has enough energy to light up one of the biggest cities in the world for an entire day.” This informational book explains how the body produces, expends, and recharges energy through such activities as eating, sleeping, and exercising. The author’s note at the end focuses not on what the characters have been doing throughout the book but on Einstein’s equation E=mc2. In child-friendly language, the note explains what an equation is, how Einstein used this one to solve tough problems, and how all of this relates to the body’s energy. While this book could effectively be used in school lessons about energy, kids likely study Einstein’s equation much later in school than this book’s target audience. Greenberg’s multicultural cast of characters models different aspects of the body’s use of energy, the primary character being a black girl with her hair in two puffballs. While most of the characters have strangely angular features, the stark color contrasts and interesting facts will keep readers engaged. Parents and kids alike will appreciate the book’s exhortation to stay curious.

A fresh, scientific look at one aspect of the incredible human body. (Informational picture book. 4-8)