How It Works: How the Body Works

This exhaustive account of the body's senses, organs, etc., is clearly and handsomely presented in the Dorling Kindersley style. The book was designed and edited by DK, in fact, and a few of the headings bear slightly starchy British phrasings (``Transport and maintenance,'' ``Taste expectations''). As its subtitle indicates, the volume-largely because of some advanced text-will work best when shared by grown-up and child; indeed, many of the numerous experiments caution ``adult help is advised.'' But all curious minds are sure to be intrigued by these carefully outlined projects, whether as comparatively sophisticated as making fingerprints or as simple as comparing the color of hands after one has been held in the air and the other in a low position (the altered blood flow darkens the lower hand, lightens the upper one). Copious drawings, charts and photographs enhance and clarify the material; a seven-page glossary defines unfamiliar terms. A lot of vital data to consume here: see ``Eating and Digestion,'' p. 80. All ages. (Aug.)