Random Body Parts

February 9, 2015
“Shall I compare thee to a clenched-up fist?” asks one of the lines in this poetic guide to the human body, which invokes Shakespearean themes, to boot. The “thee,” in this case, is the heart muscle, which is actually “more gloppy, shaped more like a cone,” readers learn. In poems like “Wherefore Art Thou, Alveoli” and “Good Riddance to Bad Blood,” Bulion blends highbrow humor and scientific information while paying tribute to the nose, pancreas, skin, and more. In scrapbook-style spreads, Lowery offers an entertaining mix of cartoony humans and disembodied organs, which are accompanied by close-up photographic images of various organs. Supplemental information about the anatomical subjects and the poetic forms Bulion uses appear throughout, making this a smart pick for left- and right-brained readers alike. Ages 8–12. Illustrator’s agency: Lilla Rogers Studio.

March 1, 2015

Gr 2-5-Bulion has crafted an engaging collection, equal parts gross-out humor and hard science. Each poem showcases a different body part, slowly revealing intriguing details about the organ in question through riddle. The poems are accompanied by a fact box designed to deepen readers' knowledge. Kids will be both delighted and informed: for instance, when a heart stops beating, it is referred to as "asystole," and even while sleeping our tongues swallow saliva. Lowery's playful drawings are presented alongside magnified photographs of organs, creating a collage effect and skillfully reinforcing the book's dual intentions: to entertain and enlighten. The book also contains a labeled diagram of the human body and notes about the poetic forms showcased, VERDICT Whether educators are seeking material for health lesson units, an introduction to simile and metaphor, or simply something to tempt budding poetry lovers, they'll find this exquisite gem of a book incredibly useful.-Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2015
Poetry + anatomy and physiology = an unusual combination.Bulion has taken a series of poetry styles-sonnet, limerick, haiku, concrete poem, cinquain-as well as various rhyming schemes and uses them to provide brief, riddlelike descriptions of various organs of the human body. Although the first poem tells readers, "Some riddles will seem cinchy, / Some challengingly tough," the answers are revealed on the same pages as the poems appear, making the guessing quite simple all the way through. Some of the spreads include humorous, cartoony illustrations, while others feature close-up or even microscopic photographic images, none of which are explicitly identified. Detailed "Poetry Notes" provide useful explanations of the styles and rhyming patterns of the poems. She relates each of them to the works of Shakespeare, although the audience that might most enjoy the hyperbole of the poems and images and the riddle format is unlikely to have yet acquired much knowledge of the Bard. The poem on teeth says, "A full set's eight and twenty more," although the explanation at the bottom of the page correctly identifies the number of permanent teeth as 32. While it's hard not to admire the ick factor of couplets like, "Spuds unearthed from mud, then fried, / Mucus oozed from deep inside," to describe the workings of the stomach, the audience for this effort may be limited. Better suited to poetry classrooms than science labs. (Poetry. 9-12)

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March 15, 2015
Grades 6-8 This collection ambitiously blends an introduction to some human physiology with puzzle poems inspired by varying Shakespearean writings and poetic forms, sonnet to cinquain. Lunchtime spotlights the stomach ( With a pulverizing rumble, / Churn and thrash the slushy jumble ); others range from the kidney to the pancreas and eyelids. Riddles can be droll and clever, if sometimes esoteric (the two-line A wizened face / In a lofty case describes the brain); or icky, like liver's My brown-green bile trucks yuck away, / I'm bloody, muddy-red like clay. Following each poem is a short, smaller text paragraph revealing the described part, its characteristics and function within the body, and related facts. Interspersed mixed-media color illustrations add visual interest, though are mainly simply rendered cartoon accompaniments rather than explicative. Appended Poetry Notes discuss each poem's rhyme scheme and structure and the Shakespearean reference Bulion drew from. While there are similarities to Allan Wolf's human-anatomy poetry collection, The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems about Our Parts (2003), some complexitiesincluding the poems' often archaic prose, literary allusions, and the science terminology and conceptsmake this more suitable for older readers and the Shakespeare-familiar. A glossary and a few additional resources are appended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)