cover image 50 Body Questions: A Book That Spills Its Guts

50 Body Questions: A Book That Spills Its Guts

Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illus. by Ross Kinnaird. Annick (Firefly, dist.), $22.95 (108p) ISBN 978-1-55451-613-1

Fifty questions steer this lighthearted guide to the sometimes icky, often fascinating nature of bodily functions. General topics include blood, muscles and bones, the senses, and the brain. The somewhat idiosyncratic questions serve as launch pads for discussion: “Are you scared of needles?” opens a section about disease and vaccination; “Is your brain made of plastic?” leads into a passage about the Dalai Lama, meditation, and the brain’s ability to form new connections. Kinnaird provides energetic cartoons of people and other organisms while Kyi folds biology, history, and anatomy into her overview of the body, creating an informative resource conducive to casual reading. Ages 9–11. (July)