OPEN ME UP

Open Me Up     Everything You Need to Know About the Human Body

by Laura Buller, Julie Ferris, Niki Foreman, Fran Jones, Susan Kennedy, Ashwin Khurana, and Richard Walker; Editorial consultant Richard Walker

DK Publishing, 2009

 ISBN #978-0-7566-5532-7

Nonfiction, grades 4 and up

256 pages

This hip, somewhat irreverent book of everything about the body has extensive information presented in a variety of styles and ways that are intended to attract kids to the facts in a nontraditional manner. Examples include a graphic novel style explanation of Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, anatomical illustrations explaining arm muscle mechanics, cartoon style information about hair, and a digestive system illustration made of balloons, all showing one aspect of the way the human body functions. The entire set of systems is presented in one way or another and topics related to the body help round out each section. Back matter includes the body systems with an accompanying illustration and an index.

The cover shows a 3-D die cut of a human body that reveals the inner organs and is sure to attract attention. This book should appeal to students reluctant to learn science in more traditional ways as well as kids who are interested in details, trivia, and other odd facts.

Activity

Select one of the body systems from the book. Create their own graphic style page based on one similar to what is presented in the book to illustrate, explain, and display information about the organs making up that system.

National Science Standard: Structure and function in living systems

 

Book provided by DK Publishing

The WEE Book of PEE

 

The Wee Book of Pee

The Amazingly Gross Human Body Series

By Kelly Regan Barnhill

Capstone, 2010 (Edge Books)

ISBN #1-4296-3357-3

Reading level grades 3-4   

Interest level grades 3-9

“Pee isn’t just some stinky yellow stuff people flush down the toilet. The body’s cells are constantly making waste products while they work. Something has to clean out all the gunk. Luckily, we have an amazing system of organs that keep our bodies clean and healthy. Let’s take a closer look at pee and how it’s made.

From needing to “go” on a car trip to peeing through history, this book sets the scene for the job the urinary system and its organs do in relationship to proper body functioning as an organism. Going about the job of cleaning the blood isn’t necessarily the polite topic of conversation in most places, but the importance of the job the urinary system does certainly is, and the book not only gives the outright facts but makes it fun, fascinating, and of course, gross!

New vocabulary is highlighted in blue and defined in a little sidebar at the bottom of the page. Details about how the organs work and their place in the urinary system make up a big part of the text areas. Photos and labeled diagrams clarify the text, and difficult ideas, such as pH, are explained clearly. The major illnesses related to the urinary system are mentioned and odd, quirky facts will help draw in the reader.

The title certainly drew me in. As a former science teacher, I can’t help but love topics (and books) like this. I wish this sort of book had been readily available when I was a child. I’m drawn to the way the systems in the body are so unbelievably intertwined and books like this can appeal to budding scientists or readers who want to know something gross equally well.

On a personal note, my dad had Type I diabetes and went into kidney failure when his kidney function dropped to 12% capacity. He started dialysis and I came to learn much about the disease, system, and nutrition involved with the shutdown of this important system of organs. While much progress has been made in controlling blood sugar and the damage it causes in the kidneys, the rise of Type II diabetes and resulting kidney failure continues to affect many people today.  This post is in memory of my dad, George Smith.

Activity 1

Review the organs of the urinary system. Draw the urinary system and label the major organs. Write a paragraph that follows the sequence of the wastes filtered from the blood through the kidneys to the urethra.

This print out of the urinary system can be used for the younger students.

Here’s a short movie about the urinary system.

This kid friendly site has information, games, and a coloring page.

Activity 2 For the older students

Look up dialysis and find out how it works to mechanically clean the body’s wastes.

This site has helpful information.

This site provides links to more kidney information.

National Science Standard: organization in living systems

This book is one in a series of six books about the human body and functions titled The Amazingly Gross Human Body.

Book received from Capstone Press.