KIRKUS REVIEW
Take an eye-catching journey through the human body, examining various organs and systems.
Accurate, relatively detailed information spiced up by a humorous presentation accompanies lively, intricate illustrations of a human body–as-factory, staffed by hundreds of tiny uniformed workers whose dialogue bubbles contain information about the body’s functions. “Blood sugar needs to be topped off! I’ll send some agents to the liver with messages to release more glucose from its supplies,” thinks a worker in the pancreas as he juggles red briefcases of hormonal information to release. The Where’s Waldo?–style illustrations and relatively simple text (by comparison to David Macaulay's The Way We Work, 2008, for instance) will keep readers engaged, since there’s so much going on. If bodily functions aren’t sufficiently interesting for some readers, they can keep busy looking for a tiny skeletal figure hidden on each spread. Amusing trivia—“A dog’s olfactory bulbs are about 40 times bigger than a human’s”—adds yet another dimension to this surprisingly appealing yet comprehensive romp through anatomy and physiology. A glossary covers some of the more complex terms, but there is no source information. A large fold-out poster that draws together many of the individual systems will enhance understanding.
Terrific for classrooms and recreational browsing, this information-packed effort will also appeal to puzzle lovers and those that savor complex illustrations. (Nonfiction. 9-14)
