The Body and How It Works

Al Stray is manager of the Port Credit Public Library.

Volume 2 in Macmillan’s Windows on the World series is aimed at students aged 8 to 13. It provides a graphic, straightforward explanation of the human body, its parts and functions, including reproduction. Steven Parker uses analogies between the workings of the body and the workings of familiar objects from everyday life.

Twenty-seven articles, mostly two to four pages long, provide an overview of the various parts of the body. The broad entries are then broken down into specifics. Parker devotes the most space to the growth of the individual from conception to old age. Particularly well done are the sections on conception and birth.

Three illustrators have combined their talents to bring the text to life. Popular subject headings in the table of contents provide quick access to the material. The author discusses the parts of the body from the outside in — from skin to blood — and then from top to bottom —from brain to feet. “See” references are used to keep material in context. A glossary of anatomical terms used is included.

An alphabetically arranged index follows the glossary. Some entries are subdivided and page numbers in bold type are used to identify major entries. Any abbreviations used are defined and the common names of terms used are either included in brackets or have a separate listing.

The author has succeeded in making a complex subject understandable. The Body and How It Works will provide its intended audience with a good reference guide while whetting their appetites for more.