Parker, Nancy Winslow. Organs! How They Work, Fall Apart, and Can Be Replaced (Gasp!). Illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker. Greenwillow Books, 2009. ISBN 9780688151058. $17.99. 48 p.
Reviewer: Sandra L. Tidwell
Reading Level: Primary
Rating: Outstanding
Genre: Informational books;
Subject: Organs (Anatomy)--Juvenile literature; Books--Reviews;
How do the bones in your body reduce from about 300 at birth to 206 bones when you're a teenager? What is the integumentary system? Are a man’s lungs bigger or smaller than a woman’s lungs? How many square feet of skin make up the human body? These and other interesting facts are covered in Parker’s book, Organs! How They Work, Fall Apart, and Can Be Replaced (Gasp!). The size, color, texture, and functions of major organs are explained for the following seven human organ systems: nervous, respiratory, circulatory, digestive, urinary, skeletal, and integumentary. Parker admits that an unplanned trip to the hospital brought her to the realization that she didn't know much about the important functions of her pancreas. This experience led Parker to write and illustrate this work of non-fiction. She includes information on contemporary health concerns that include heart attacks, Alzheimer's disease, farmer's lung, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), cirrhosis, gall stones, appendicitis, diabetes, melanoma, green strick fractures, organ transplants, and xenotransplantation. Along with explaining current health issues, the simplified, anatomically colored organ illustrations, "Facts about..." boxes, website listings, glossary, and index are important and helpful aspects of this book. Organs! can be a useful addition to the science section of a public, school, or home library.
Volume 29, no. 6 (July/August 2009)
