You Are Weird

January 1, 2010
Gr 3-6-This look at the human body highlights the "odd" and the "gross," but backpedals with qualifiers like "wonderfully weird." Our obsolete, inherited bits such as the appendix are described with intriguing multimedia illustrations of people with distorted features and sometimes realistic, sometimes cartoon color illustrations of the parts on display. Information appears in colloquial text in columns that surround the graphics. Simple parlor-trick-style experiments illustrate points such as determining if your family still has the palmaris tendon. "Freaky Facts" sections focus on sensational details like babies and mothers with tails being executed in the Middle Ages. "Weird" closes with unsolved mysteries and suggestions to use science to investigate them. This is a good choice for the "Guinness Book of World Records" fans to read cover to cover independently or guffaw over in small groups."S. McClendon, Friends School of Atlanta, Decatur, GA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2009
Grades 2-4 Like Glenn MurphysWhy Is Snot Green? (2009), this chatty, interactive humorous science book makes human physiology accessible and interesting, with lots ofwild facts about hair, bacteria, sweat, skin, joints, muscles, and more. On every spread, there are wry titles (Bacteria bed and breakfast), astonishing statistics (right now you have more bacteria in your large intestine than the number of human beings who ever lived on earth), quick experiments, and lots of colorful cartoon illustrations. The puns are right on (sinuses are Holes in your head), and, far from jargon, the sounds of the words get it right (mucus is slime). A final Unsolved Mysteries page stays true to the challenge of scientific inquiry, and the detailed, readable glossary pulls facts together in plain style. Great for group discussion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)