Your body battles a cold

Gr 3-5-The body's immune system has never looked like this before with plasma cells using sling shots to fire antibodies into viruses, platelets riding inner tubes down a stream of blood, and viruses multiplying in a "Germco" factory. Each title introduces five or six defense cells, disguised as superheroes protecting the body from adversarial viruses (unspecified in Skinned Knee, rotavirus in Stomachache, and rhinovirus in Cold). The normal body functions are introduced before focusing on what happens when things go awry. The oversize text uses metaphors that readers will understand, such as comparing the stomach to a "food processor" or a macrophage to a "garbage truck." The physical process of vomiting is explained and illustrated in Stomachache, while diarrhea is described less graphically. Sanitary precautions are mentioned where appropriate. Most of the vivid, double-page illustrations include a pertinent, labeled micrograph, with magnification indicated. Contrasting insets offer more detailed information. The books can be read following only the general texts, but the micrographs will fascinate and compel young readers to read everything.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Vivid photomicrographs and humorous cartoons accompany lucid explanations of the human body's defenses. The second-person narration ("Don't you just hate to get a stomachache?") engages readers learning about familiar maladies. Texts also include a few simple activities (e.g., using a flashlight and mirror to examine protective nose hairs, gumming a cracker until it tastes sweet). Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Body Battles titles: Your Body Battles a Cold, Your Body Battles a Skinned Knee, and Your Body Battles a Stomachache.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.