These books offer amazing trivia, true-life survival tales, and some actual, age-appropriate instruction in human biology. Kids who want to learn more about the human brain and body will find something to suit them in this selection of books about the human body.
Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science (4.5/5 stars, grade 5 and up, currently priced at $6.99)
Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.
At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage “was no longer Gage,” said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.
His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.
Osteoblasts to the Rescue: An Imaginative Journey Through the Skeletal System – Human Body Detectives (5/5 stars, picture book, currently priced at $2.99)
Human Body Detectives Merrin and Pearl are at it again.
Their magical ability to jump into people’s bodies and explore their systems (digestive, skeletal, nervous ( June 2014), circulatory, and immune) combines science with their fun adventures to help kids understand their anatomy and how their bodies work.
In Osteoblasts to the Rescue, Merrin and Pearl examine their friend Lily’s skeletal system on their journey to reach the broken bone in her arm. Along the way they slide down rib bones, climb up the clavicle, see the fracture, and so much more.
In the end they not learn about how broken bones repair themselves, but they get a firsthand lesson on the functions of the skeletal system.
Ideal for both the home and the classroom, these beautifully illustrated books offer activity pages as well as a glossary of terms and information about the best foods kids can eat to keep their bodies healthy. A curriculum for teachers is also available for each book. The Human Body Detectives series offers science with a twist–an accessible lesson about the human body presented in a fun, relatable way that kids will love.
Each Human Body Detective book can stand alone as well as be read as part of the series.
The Human Body – Ken Jennings’ Junior Genius Guides (4.5/5 stars, grade 3 and up, currently priced at $6.99)
Unveil the impressive mysteries of your own body with this interactive trivia book from Jeopardy! champ and New York Times bestselling author Ken Jennings.
With this book about the amazing human body, you’ll become an expert and wow your friends and teachers with awesome anatomical facts: Did you know that your hair is as strong as copper wire? Or that if you could spread them out, your lungs would have the surface area of a tennis court? With great illustrations, cool trivia, and fun quizzes to test your knowledge, this guide will have you on your way to whiz-kid status in no time!
Fourth Down and Inches: Concussions and Football’s Make-or-Break Moment – Nonfiction – Young Adult (4.5/5 stars, teens, currently priced at $9.99)
When the 1905 football season ended, nineteen players were dead and countless others were critically injured. The public was outraged. The game had reached a make-or-break moment—fourth down and inches. Coaches, players, fans, and even the president of the United States had one last chance: change football or leave the field.
Football’s defenders managed to move the chains. Rule changes and reforms after 1905 saved the game and cleared the way for it to become America’s most popular sport. But they didn’t fix everything.
Today, football faces a new injury crisis as dire as 1905’s. With increased awareness about brain injury, reported concussions are on the rise among football players. But experts fear concussions may only be the tip of the iceberg. The injuries are almost invisible, but the stakes couldn’t be higher: the brains of millions of young football players across the country.
Award-winning author Carla Killough McClafferty takes readers on a bone-crunching journey from football’s origins to the latest research on concussion and traumatic brain injuries in the sport. Fourth Down and Inches features exclusive photography and interviews with scientists, players, and the families of athletes who have literally given everything to the game.
It’s fourth and inches. Can football save itself again?
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