HUMAN BIOLOGY

Ages 5 to 8 | Ages 8 to 11 | Ages 11+

Ages 5 to 8

The magic school bus at the waterworks
Cole, Joanna (Scholastic, 1986, 40pp.)
This book takes a rather fantastical look at a town's water supply. It is written from the perspective of a pupil whose class has the strangest teacher in the school. She makes the class grow mould on bread! And organises an excursion to the waterworks. On the way, the school bus passes through a tunnel and changes, and the children become part of the water cycle, being evaporated up into clouds, falling as rain, and eventually emerging from the school washroom taps. As well as their magic journey, the book presents 'water facts' that the children have to find. The lively full-colour illustrations by Bruce Degen are liberally sprinkled with bubbles containing the children's amusing comments. The story moves well, and is fun without seeming contrived.

The magic school bus inside the Earth, by the same team (1987), uses a similar approach to explore the rocks of the Earth's crust and right inside the Earth. An author, illustrator and reader discussion at the end draws attention to the fact that a bus would melt inside the Earth, and other physical impossibilities in the fantasy.

The magic school bus inside the human body, by the same team (1989), has a similar treatment but does not provide such a good overview as the subject is much more complicated. The quiz at the end is a more effective way of drawing attention to the liberties in the illustrations than the list in Waterworks.

A television series and several spin-off series of books have ensured this series’ continuing popularity. See www.scholastic.com/magicschoolbus/books for a full listing.
(OUR WORLD; HUMAN BIOLOGY)

Happy birth day!
Harris, Robie H.; illustrated by Michael Emberley (Walker, 1996, 26pp.)
In this large format picture book, a mother tells her child exactly what happened on the day of her birth. From the moment of emergence into the world, the events of that first day – the first breath, the cutting of the cord, the first breastfeed – are lovingly described. Accompanying the text are evocative but accurate paintings by Michael Emberley of the newborn infant, complete with screwed-up face, surrounded by mother, father, doctor and doting relatives.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

My pop-up body book
Petty, William (text) Jennie Maizels (illus.) (Walker Books, 2010, unpaged)
Young children usually love pop-up books and this one should prove popular. Each double-page spread covers a different aspect of the human organism entitled My Beginning, My Head, My Chest, My Tummy and My Moving Body. Within these generalised sections are tabs to pull, wheels to turn and flaps to unfold, all revealing much more information than the few captions on the page. Some of the paper engineering is very clever such as the face unfolding to reveal the muscular structure on the left-hand side and the skull on the right. While fairly robust, the book still needs to be treated with care to preserve all the correct folds.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

What makes me me?
Winston, Robert (Dorling Kindersley, 2004, 96p.)
This well-designed, extensively illustrated book provides an excellent explanation about the human body for young readers. Four sections answer the leading questions: What am I made of? What makes me unique? How does my brain work? What kind of person am I? The contents cover the chemical composition and systems of the body, genetics, the brain including memory and intelligence and personality. Short sections called 'Test Yourself' are included at relevant stages for the reader to quiz themselves about such aspects as dominant and recessive genetic traits, memory and different types of intelligence. The logical arrangement of the subject matter combined with clear layout, photographs of child subjects, short sections of text and language that addresses the reader made this a winner of the Royal Society's Aventis Junior Prize in 2005.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

Ages 8 to 11

Evolve or die
Gates, Phil (Horrible Science, Scholastic, 1999, 128pp.)
With the earthy humour and school jokes enjoyed by 10-12 year olds, this book gives a rapid overview of how life has evolved and how people's ideas about the origins of life have changed. It discusses some interesting fossils and how they were preserved, genetics, and some important scientists such as Darwin, Mendel, Wegener, Francis and Crick. Cartoons by Tony de Saulles extend the humour of the text and add some serious things such as a time line. With a table of contents but no index, books in this series are designed for enjoyable reading rather than research.

In similar style but with more emphasis on scatological humour, Disgusting digestion by Nick Arnold shows the various parts of the alimentary canal and related organs and the value of sewage treatment in reducing disease. Correct medical terms are introduced with humour which challenges readers to use them.

Also by Nick Arnold, Bulging brains, uses the advertising language we hear everyday and the term neuro-phone to show how the nervous system works. Once again important scientists are introduced and cartoons by Terry de Saulles increase the book's appeal.

For a full listing of all books in this popular series see www.scholastic.co.uk/zone/book_horr-science.htm
(GENERAL SCIENCE; HUMAN BIOLOGY)

The young Oxford book of the human being
Glover, David (Oxford University Press, 1996, 160pp.)
It isn't often that a book about the human body covers the whole of a person. But the cover on this book sums it up well when it states that this book is about 'the body, the mind and the way we live'. Divided into four sections, the topics covered are divided into Origins, Body, Mind and Living Together. The first two sections are self-explanatory. The third and fourth sections are what separates this book from the mass of others on this subject because they include explanations on intelligence and creativity, the conscious and unconscious, coping with stress,emotions and fears, social groupings, culture, religion and belief, inventions and discoveries and the future.This treatment of the human being as more that just its physical body leads to a more holistic discussion of humankind, resulting in a more balanced overview tying all aspects of humanity together.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

Let’s talk about where babies come from
Harris, Robie H.; illustrated by Michael Emberley (Walker, 1999, 81pp.)
As it covers everything a pre-pubescent child or younger teenager is likely to ask about sex and babies, this book has quite a lot of text, but it is also amply illustrated by Michael Emberley with a mixture of serious and humorous coloured drawings. Body differences (inside and out), sperm, eggs and how they get together, different kinds of love, development of the foetus, birth, multiple pregnancies, genes, adoption, OK and not-OK touches, HIV and AIDS are all discussed reassuringly. The comments of a somewhat anthropomorphic cartoon-style bird and bee add a light touch.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

How nearly everything was invented: by the Brainwaves
MacLeod, Jilly, illustrated by Lisa Swerling and Ralph Lazar (Dorling Kindersley, 2006, 61p.)
Shortlisted for The Royal Society Prize for Science Books: Junior Prize in 2007, How nearly everything was invented is supposedly written by the Brainwaves, small cartoon-style characters who populate each page in large numbers to provide comments on the topic under discussion. Every second alternate double-page spread is actually a fold-out which opens up to provide a four-page timeline of the development in a particular subject. Inventions and their applications covered include the lens, the steam engine, electricity and the light bulb, the internal combustion engine and the transistor, along with brief information of the people who made some of these important breakthroughs.

In 2007 the same illustrators published the next in the series, How the incredible human body works: by the Brainwaves, written by Richard Walker, which uses the same format to explain the systems of the human body. The four-page lengthways foldout of the digestive system is particularly worth noting.
(TECHNOLOGY; HUMAN BIOLOGY)

'What's happening to me?'
Mayle, Peter; illustrated by Arthur Robins (Pan Australia, 1988, 56pp.)
Tells about puberty changes clearly and informally, with special attention to the things that worry teenagers and the preteens. Apart from two charts of life drawings showing the changes, the illustrations by Arthur Robin are cartoon style, very expressive and to the point.

Also by the same team is 'Where did I come from?'. It has less text and larger typeface to show younger children how babies are made.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

Skeleton (Revised ed.)
Parker, Steve (Eyewitness Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 2003, 64pp.)
This is a thoroughly and clearly illustrated book on human and other skeletons. It looks at whole skeletons of a human, other mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and exoskeletons, before looking more closely at the parts of each skeleton using the human skeleton as a reference. It is very detailed, with skeletons shown starkly against a white background. Many small topical pictures fill the spaces on each page. The captions in small print contain much information, but a brief text introduces each subject. This is a book to explore slowly, and to use as a reference from primary to early tertiary level.
(ANIMALS; HUMAN BIOLOGY)

Ages 11+

Blame my brain: the amazing teenage brain revealed
Morgan, Nicola (Walker Books, 2007, 207p.)
This entertaining paperback describes the changes which take place in the human brain during adolescence and how these changes contribute to many teenage behavioural trends which may drive parents to distraction. These include emotional reactions, sleep patterns and risk-taking. Also included are sections on gender differences, the effects of alcohol and other drugs and psychological problems such as depression. This book is also an informative source for parents and was shortlisted for the Royal Society Junior Prize for Science Books in 2006. A companion volume called Know your brain: Feed it*Test it*Stretch it was published in 2007.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)

Tobacco and your mouth: The incredibly disgusting story
Winters, Adam (Incredibly Disgusting Drugs, Rosen Central, 2000, 48pp.)
Starting with the effect of ubiquitous advertising, this book then shows the danger of addiction, what happens to the mouth and lungs, the effect of secondhand smoke, and cigarettes as a cause of fire. It also discusses how not to start and how to stop. It uses chatty language with some graphic photographs. For the older end of this age range.
(HUMAN BIOLOGY)