Customer Reviews

The Human Body: A First Discovery Book

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My four-year-old son and I are BIG fans of the First Discovery Book series. The transparent pages in these introductory non-fiction books add something amazingly different to our large library of story books.

After buying a handful of these books for my son, I gave him the option to choose our next purchase. He chose "The Human Body." He is at a very curious age, and this book helped me answer many of the questions he had about the workings of his body.

This book has been read over and over (and over!) by my 2 1/2 year old. It is an exceptional introduction to the human body. Most fascinating is the "see-through" section that shows front and back views of different sections of the body such as the skeletal, muscular, and circulatory systems, and every major organ. Very clever! Importantly, the figure depicted in the book is that of a small female child - kids can easily identify with this image! It provides technical/scientific information in a very user-friendly manner. I can't wait to get other books in the series. Highly recommended.

The detail in the drawing is superb as is the text and it holds one's attention whether you are 8 or 40 years of age. The magic of the transparent pages is awesome.

This is a nice book for kids about the body but I was disappointed that they chose to not include the "private parts". Children need to know about them too! To cover them with clothes and not discuss them is a BIG omission.

My grandson enjoyed this book I had sent to him, but his mother and I were disappointed that the book was so small. I expected it to be bigger so that small children could look at bigger pictures. Bigger overlays on bigger pages would have a much better impact on young minds.

For the sake of safety, I think one cannot stress to their kids enough the importance of keeping private parts covered. I cannot count how many people I know who've been molested in some way, and stats on that only increase. Certianly I was happy about the interest my kids (boy, age 3, girl, age 5) showed in learning about the inner workings of their bodies.
I was also happy that I could point out that the book also reminds us that private parts are private and stay covered. "It's important to learn about how they work, but also important only to discuss them or examine them with Mommy, or Daddy, or the doctor, but no one else." Right now my kids associate this 'privacy' with the privacy they want when going to the bathroom. As they mature, I will explain to them the intimate relationship one can have with another, which includes 'use' of 'private parts'....and they will already naturally have a sense that this intimacy is not appropriate with just anyone; certainly not with an uncle, or a stranger, or even just a casual friend. Any inappropriate touch, talk, or looking will already be uncomfortable for well-informed kids.

As far as the other information in the book, learning about our bones made my son want to dress as a skeleton for Halloween. Two thumbs up.

As many happy readers have pointed out, this is a beautifully illustrated book which provides a wonderful introduction to children about what lies beneath their skins.

Howeevr, for those who were disappointed in the censored edition, take heart. The original version (without the 'panties') is available in English. I just bought a copy for my grandson at the gift shop of the Tate Modern Museum in London. When I got home I checked the Amazon UK site, and the same edition is available there.

So...if you're willing to pay a little extra for postage from the UK, you and your children should be able to admire this book in its original format. Well worth it, if you ask me.

I remember being little and spending hours studying the transparent overlay pages of the human body in our encyclopedia volumes. My kids (4 and 6) have been asking more questions about body parts and functions, so I wanted to find a book for them that was age-appropriate and had transparent overlay pages. I was so excited to find this book in a used bookstore. It has met our needs perfectly (for the time being) and my kids love it. We have had it for about a month, and they study it every day. They each have favorite parts of the book - my daughter, for example, loves the section in which the development of a fetus is described - and based on their favorite sections, we can go look up more information on the internet or in other books. Like I said, it's a great starting point that will lead to further discovery! I look forward to seeing what the other "First Discovery Books" have to offer.

My sons are 2 and 4 and this is one of their favorite books. It discusses so much that is mysterious to kids, and in an entertaining way. One of their favorite parts is the see-through page section. This section illustrates many body systems: the muscles, the nervous system, the circulatory system. The reproductive organs may not be shown, but how babies are conceived is handled in a very thoughtful way. My boys love to talk about how they were once inside of me!

I saw this book at a local sale, and should have bought it immediately b/c I kept thinking about it. Well, I finally bought it on-line, and am very happy I did! This book does a great job of illustrating all that stuff inside kids' bodies in a delightful way. Love the see-through pages!