Burp!: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read about Eating (Mysterious You) (Paperback)

by Diane Swanson (Author), Rose Cowles (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The human body is also explored in two titles in the Mysterious You series: Burp! The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Eating and Hmm? The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Memory, both by Diane Swanson, illus. by Rose Cowles. In Burp! Swanson explains the functions of the human body parts using a combination of facts ("Your stomach is a J-shaped elastic sac that can stretch to hold about 1.5 L [1Ù qt.] of food"), anecdotes ("Boiled briefcases, lipstick, sawdust and plaster made for bizarre food in 1941, when war trapped 3 million starving people in Leningrad, Russia") and child-oriented experiments. With contents such as "The Memory Machine," "Drawing a Blank" and "Sharpening Your Memory," Hmm? offers a similar treatment of how memory works; both books feature cartoon illustrations.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Burp! The most interesting book you’ll ever read about eating is for children who can read well and digest, so to speak, considerable amounts of material. To sugar the medicine, basic facts are accompanied by stories worthy of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Though Rose Cowles’s illustrations are of the Simpsons school of esthetics, they are nevertheless informative and entertaining. (The National Post 200104)

Burp! is an awesome science book about eating and the digestive system. A real gas for kids 7 – 10. (Toronto Star )

Everything and anything anyone could want to know about the fine art of eating and the concomitant processes of digestion and elimination are presented in an engaging, amusing way in Burp! Beyond the obvious are sidebars that include the feats of speed-eater Thomas Carson – 22 hamburgers and two litres of ice cream in 25 minutes – and of Walter Hudson of New York, who weighed 1,197 pounds. (The Globe and Mail )

In Burp! Swanson explains the functions of the human body parts using a combination of facts, anecdotes and child-oriented experiments. Both books feature cartoon illustrations. (Publishers Weekly )

Bold illustrations enhance this fact-filled book about the human digestive system, explaining how food is broken down, how sense and sight affect taste, and more. (Books for Growing Minds )

[Burp!] reveals how the everyday occurrence of eating is actually a fascinating scientific event. With captivating illustrations and try-it-yourself tests, this book – appropriate for ages 9 to 14 - is sure to engage any reader. (Science News )

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Kids Can Press (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550746014
• ISBN-13: 978-1550746013
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #582,574 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beware- Grossology at it's WORST!, April 22, 2002

By	Sallie A. Martin (OK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Now I have to say first that this review comes from a person who is a first grade teacher and a parent. I previewed this book while preparing to do a unit on health and nutrition, and was astounded at the content of this book. I know that grossology has become popular among kids, but this book is beyond even grossology gross!

This book does not even take a realistic look at grossology by explaining the functions and why we have them, instead it makes fun of those functions. For example, the book talks about how the Romans ate flamingo tongues and other revolting delicacies, filling themselves until they could eat no more, then would make themselves throw up and eat again. Hmm, in a world of anorexia and bulemia, I'm not sure this is good or even useful information for young children! Constipation and other subjects are also discussed in a way that kids any age would not be able to seriously look at without laughing and being embarassed.

Parents in the grossology craze of today, I highly recommend that you at least preview this book before handing it over to your child. Teachers, if you are wanting to teach grossology, I strongly urge you to make another choice, this one just misses the mark of being a useful tool for the classroom. Absoloutely avoid this book if you are trying to teach basic health and nutrition, you may get some offended students and parents!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible and educational--highly recommended!!, April 9, 2004

By A Customer

This book is fascinating in how it discusses the many complexities of the human body; i could hardly put it down. It gives a recipe for such struggles as diarrhea (e.g. 1/2 tsp. honey, pinch of salt, and 1 cup apple juice together then stir & drink it down). Other trivia include such details as to how long the small intestine is (23 ft.) or when you sleep you burn 65 calories an hour. Another fun one for all of us stress living humans, "stress can cause the muscles to tighten making you want to "go". Humans have 16 million smell sensors; a rabbit has 100 million. Definitely a book all ages can appreciate and "wow" over as we appreciate the wonderful machine, the human body that we live in.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, Fun, Interesting Information! , January 22, 2005

By	Lynn Ellingwood "The ESOL Teacher" (Webster, NY United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Burp!: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read about Eating (Mysterious You) (Hardcover)

I found this book very entertaining and interesting and the average intermediate student will too! It's good to have books that demystify and entertain at the same time. A person will learn a lot more from this book than from a dry textbook. Thanks!