Stuff you need to know about the human body

What goes on inside a cell? What are bones? What does your liver do? For all of those questions and approximately 28 more, this slim offering provides answers in spades. Two-page spreads (plus a few with gatefolds) are devoted to answering each question about a body system, process, or organ. Brightly colored illustrations show the body as a factory, with tiny workers darting around to keep the pieces in working order. Looking too deeply at the metaphor will cause it to fall apart, but it is a fun way to explain more complex ideas. The text itself, written in palatable, bite-size pieces, is numbered and has arrows directing the reader where to read next as it flies around the pages. In spite of the lively, lighthearted illustrations, the information is fairly complex and detailed, with plenty of new and challenging vocabulary. For fans of DK's Eyewitness series or any of David Macaulay's works, or for those who are seeking a concise look at the human body, this is a surefire win.--Linsenmeyer, Erin Copyright 2018 Booklist

The human body gets a visually appealing tour.Each section of this colorful exploration of human anatomy and physiology begins with a simple question: "How do you move?" and "How do muscles work?" are typical. Detailed, numbered steps are arranged around the large pages, often connected by fine, blue directional lines. Each double-page spreadfour augmented with double gatefoldsdescribes a body system, organ, or process, all of them represented as factory scenes with myriad little workers of various races scampering around fixing, building, or operating fancifully depicted juvenile bodies. The pages are very busy and amusing to pore over. The narrative tends toward complexity, with a challenging vocabulary and granular level of detail. For example, the lateral genticulate nucleus and superior colliculus are both named and explained. Yet on another page urine is described as "pee." Although sometimes simplistic, the narrative is nearly always accurate, with the exception of one statement that there are valves at the bottom of the heart's ventricles (although they are depicted correctly in an illustration and described correctly in a different paragraph on the same page). Like David Macaulay's The Way We Work (2008), this body tour has illustrations that will charm a younger audience than would enjoy the complexity of the written information. For that younger group, Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Ross Kinnaird's 50 Body Questions (2014) offers a more balanced presentation. An attractive, detailed exploration for an uncertain audience. (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.