How to Build a Human: The Incredible Design of the Human Body (Tomorrow's World) by Scott Goldie

What worked:

The author uses several techniques to make the non-fiction information more palatable and approachable for young readers. The numerous, colorful illustrations are most obvious, but the backgrounds and text boxes are multi-colored too. Humor is an important part of text, making the information entertaining. Questions about the human body are often used as a bridge to relevant facts. Some pages include “Four Facts and a Fib” that create active reading instead of remaining passive. “Fun Facts” break up the narrative by sharing short, related information.

The book is surprisingly comprehensive. It begins by exploring what it means to be human and then addresses cells and pathogens, microscopic things found in the body. Other chapters describe the skeletal system (since we’re vertebrates) and then the brain and nervous system. It shares the various types of bones and even the different kinds of bone joints. There’s a section about the BCI, which enables humans with disabilities to recover some mobility they may have lost due to paralysis. There’s an explanation of how our sense of smell works, along with an amusing page titled “How to Safely Remove a Booger”. The book covers everything readers expect, such as the heart, lungs, liver, and less obvious topics kids might find interesting. Poop, pee, blushing, and sweating are natural bodily functions, so the book talks about them. Young readers are aware of reproduction, allergies, and diseases, and these subjects are covered toward the end.

What didn’t work as well:

The book contains loads of information and facts, but readers will be challenged to find specific topics. There isn’t an index at the back, so readers doing research will need to use context, skimming, and scanning to locate needed pages. Most chapters have creative titles, so the relevant pages may not be obvious. The heart, blood, and platelets are in the chapter “Let’s Plug in the Heart”, and “The Finishing Touches” covers skin, hair, and fingernails.

The final verdict:

It’s always effective when an author makes nonfiction entertaining, so upper middle-grade readers will have fun while they’re learning. This book can be used for research or for short periods of reading amusement. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot!