BODY ACTIONS

Bright, clear photographs and design offer an unfussy look at anatomy for very young readers and listeners.

Full-color photographs of children accompany a brief text that invites readers to think about how they accomplish everyday activities: “How do you kick a ball, jump rope, blow up a balloon, digest food, read a book, or ride a bike?” Overlay drawings of body systems—skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, digestive—offer a peek inside, and a longer explanation at the end of the book reinforces the information. A diagram of the airways and lungs is superimposed on the photograph of a girl blowing up a balloon, which becomes a cross section of an eye in another photograph. The explanation for each function is very brief, really just providing the location and generalized way that it contributes to the body, but it’s enough to be a starting point for more learning and certainly for an appreciation of the complexity right at hand. Brief definitions of the five senses, a longer explanation for the function of skin and hair, and a glossary of 14 body terms and text elaborating on body systems make up the backmatter.

Very simple, accessible and appealing as a starting point for human-science learning.