Brain [School & Library Binding]

Seymour Simon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1999 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

The human brain is behind everything you do. From taking your first step to creating the computer, this vital organ gives humans the ability to learn and adapt to an ever-changing world. Now award-winning science writer Seymour Simon has teamed up with the Smithsonian Institution to bring you a new, updated edition of his acclaimed book about your amazing, versatile brain.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Did you know that your brain (yes, even yours) is roughly the size of a large grapefruit? Award-winning author Seymour Simon clearly and skillfully exposes the many wonders of the brain and nervous system in The Brain: Our Nervous System. Author of more than 150 children's books about science, including The Heart: Our Circulatory System, Muscles: Our Muscular System, and Bones: Our Skeletal System, Simon has a knack for piquing the curiosity of youngsters and clearly communicating scientific facts. The Brain, written for ages 8 and older, is a solid launching pad for further investigation of the organ that makes us who we are. Kids will love learning that our brains grow until we are 7 years old, that our spines have 33 vertebrae, and that our skulls are made of 28 bones. Large, full-color photographs and illustrations show the fascinating, if slightly nauseating, areas of the human brain--a positron computed tomography (PCT) photo, for example, shows the dramatically different levels of visual stimulation to the brain when your eyes are open or closed. Two to three paragraphs of large type per page, plus one full-bleed illustration per spread, help make The Brain just the right amount of information for one grapefruit-sized brain to take in. (Ages 8 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6. In this most recent effort, Simon brings his deft touch to an explanation of the brain and the nervous system. His clear, concise writing style is complemented by stunning color images taken with radiological scanners, such as CAT scans, MRIs, and SEMs (scanning electron microscopes.) Included in his explanation are descriptions of the anatomy and function of the parts of the brain, long and short term memory, neurons, dendrites, and more. The layout is familiar?a page of text facing a full-page photo. There is no glossary or index, but, as usual, the book is so well organized that they won't be missed.?Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 30 pages
• Publisher: Topeka Bindery; 1 edition (August 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613228286
• ISBN-13: 978-0613228282
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,584,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association). His free, educational children's app, SCIENCE FUN TO GO, debuted in the Top 10 of all free children's apps in the Amazon App store, and features in app purchase of original Seymour Simon eBooks, as well as a multitude of free content.

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York. You can follow his daily nature walks and see his photographs from the field on Twitter (@seymoursimon) or on his Facebook group page. He also regularly hosts Q&As and sponsors book giveaways on GoodReads.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Brain : Our Nervous System., January 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Brain: Our Nervous System (Paperback)

Excellent health/well being book with a great step by step introduction to the brain, its parts, how it works and the memory. The pictures are the best part. Contains excellent color illustrations and will be of interest to students from the 4th grade through the 9th grade. It's also a recommended read for the teachers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Smart Brain Book, February 2, 2011

By 

Spudman (Pasadena, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Brain: Our Nervous System (Paperback)

Seymour Simon books are can't miss choices for readers young and old. Simon engages the reader with the first sentence and doesn't release him/her until the last word. The use of white text on black background for some of the pages is an interesting twist to this worthwhile book.

Vocabulary is a hurdle difficult to overcome in a science text for young readers. How does one simplify or substitute for words like: neuron, bacteria, micrograph, dendrite, axon, cerebrum, or thalamus? The simple answer is that one can't. Despite this inherent obstacle, Simon does a yeomanly job explainting and clarifying the workings of the brain, an incredibly complex machine. The illustrations in this volume are good and are great adjuncts to the text. They are not quite up to the standard of those in other Seymour books, however.

Four students in grades 4-8, not AGES 4-8, Simon's book is a wonderful introduction to the physiology of our remarkable brain.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Age range wrong, not terribly engaging, December 7, 2009

By 

HeatherHH - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brain: Our Nervous System (Paperback)

This book is NOT suitable for ages 4-8. There may be only 32 pages, but half of them are completely filled with text, explaining cerebellum and neurons and synapses and dendrites, oh my! It's just way over the head of most in the 4- to 8-year-old set, and I do read advanced books to my children. My 6-year-old gleaned some stuff from it, but it was way too technical really for her. My 8-year-old is at the beginning of the range that can really handle it, but he reads at a 6th grade level, so he's probably not representative of his age. I'd say 4th to 8th grade level is probably a fair range, maybe some advanced 2nd and 3rd graders. It doesn't talk down, so it'd provide a suitable broad overview above that range as well.

A lot of terms are defined. And that you go on to define more terms using those terms. It's rather technical and dry. I think this could have been made more engaging with more comparisons to illustrate how a neuron or dendrite works, more diagrams, etc. It's fine as a technical treatise, but it's not a book to really deal with in one setting, way too much crammed into too little space. There are full-page pictures every other page, which are usually one more view of a brain using imaging machinery (CT scan, etc). If I read it again, I'd break it up into several days' worth of reading, stopping to provide my own illustrations, etc. For the 4th-8th *grade* set, it's an okay, but not great book. Do not even think of buying this for children ages 4 to 8 as the suggested age range suggests.