Journey Through the Mind: Unlocking the Brain's Secrets, One Thought at a Time

What worked:

The author blends comprehensive information about the brain with wit and a conversational style. He explores the brain’s smallest parts and functions, explaining each one. Our senses, emotions, dreams, and myths are just a few examples. Unusual associations help imprint facts in readers’ minds, and mental tasks are posed to highlight specific topics. Chunking and mnemonics are two strategies that help long-term memory, and the author has readers form mental palaces to practice them. Some sections break down functions into step-by-step instructions to explain mental processes of the brain. A cartoon shows the way our brains take a sad thought and make someone start crying. The overall narrative is written in blocks of information, so it doesn’t feel like everything is lumped together. Colorful illustrations and interesting facts help break up potential monotony.

The book’s highlight is the author’s combination of humor with a casual tone. “Yes, brains are weird, but that’s what makes them so interesting!” Muscle memory is applied to playing video games, which makes the topic relatable to young readers. Melatonin acts like a “… chemical lullaby, easing you off to the Land of Nod…” The author reminds readers of cavemen when a brain function doesn’t make sense today. Leptin is formed by fat cells to regulate when a person feels hungry, but it was more important for cavemen with unreliable food sources. Graphics accompanied by speech bubbles are especially amusing, like a dream about a pasta owl chasing someone in their underwear or cavemen “trepanning” holes in others’ skulls.

What didn’t work as well:

As mentioned, the book has an abundance of information that can become overwhelming. A table of contents helps readers find specific topics, but the book might be challenging to read straight through. The book’s light-hearted tone makes it easier for young people to form connections with the material.

The final verdict:

This book makes a serious topic, the brain, approachable for middle-grade readers. It covers almost any possible topic related to the brain and presents it in a style young readers will enjoy. I recommend you try this book for yourself.