Review by Booklist Review
This picture book uses a variety of techniques to show how skeletons support and protect bodies, as well as how they help humans and animals move. The engaging and informative illustrations consist primarily of photos of people and animals overlaid with semitransparent drawings of skeletons, accompanied by explanatory captions, such as, You would not be able to stand up without your skeleton. This inside-outside approach is very effective in demonstrating how bones align, move, and work together. Rotner and White's side-by-side layouts allow for easy comparisons among babies, children, and adults, or among mammals, fish, reptiles, and dinosaurs. They also cover related topics, such as teeth, beaks, and horns; insect and crustacean exoskeletons; tendons and joints; and tips on how to keep bones strong and healthy. Along with the eye-catching photographs, the concise, satisfying text in straightforward sentences offers accessible and age-appropriate context for each picture. This is a good introduction to a perennially fascinating subject, and it nicely complements Harriet Ziefert's You Can't See Your Bones with Binoculars (2003).--McBroom, Kathleen Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A concise and appealing introduction to the internal framework of humans and various animals. Beginning with an explanation of the function and purpose of bones, the book continues with facts about bone growth, and the varieties of bones that are found in many different species. Students will especially enjoy the color illustrations of people and animals, featuring an overlay of their skeletons. Comparisons among human and other animal species' skeletons are fascinating. Those looking for more information about the anatomy and physiology of the human skeleton will benefit from such titles as Jody Sullivan Rake's The Human Skeleton (Capstone, 2009) and Louise Spilsbury's The Skeleton and Muscles (Heinemann, 2008).-Lauren M. Sinacore, George M. Davis Elementary School, New Rochelle, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lots of facts about bones fill this introductory look at the skeletal-system specifics of humans and several animals, though it is the photos overlaid with bones that readers will be most likely to remember. Rotner's photos of children at play (most apparently Caucasian, alas) and animals are strikingly augmented by White's illustrations, which show the bones underneath the skin. There is a young ballerina in front of a mirror; a woman walking; a double-page spread showing growth with photos of a baby, a preschooler and a grown woman; an elephant, a horse, etc. These illustrations help highlight the jobs of the skeletal system: to give shape, support, protect and help the body move. An early illustration shows the internal organs the rib cage protects. When the text talks about the number of bones in the body, horses, birds, rabbits, fish and snakes are given for comparison against humans (baby and adult). The text also discusses how bones are adapted to animals' needs: An elephant has thick leg bones, while a bird has hollow bones, and the cartilage of a tadpole changes to bone in a frog's body. Teeth, exoskeletons and horns are also touched upon, as well as bones' makeup and the formation of fossils. The text concludes with two brief paragraphs about tendons, ligaments and joints, as well as some things you can do to keep bones healthy. A fascinating introduction to bones. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
