The Human Body

Picture Books | Intermediate | Young Adult

The books recommended below were published within the last several years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Picture Books
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

The Magic School Bus and the Science Fair Expedition written by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen (Scholastic)
The tireless teacher steers her school bus through time to introduce her students to various scientific giants (Galileo, Leeuwenhoek, Marie Curie, etc). Grade level: 3–5. 48 pages.

Hello Benny!: What It’s Like to Be a Baby written by Robie H. Harris, illus. by Michael Emberley (McElderry)
An illustrated account of every new stage of development in a baby’s first year. Grave level: Preschool–2. 40 pages.

It’s NOT the Stork!: A Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families, and Friends written by Robie H. Harris, illus. by Michael Emberley (Candlewick)
A straightforward, preschooler-friendly exposition on body parts, where babies come from, and other issues of human sexuality. Grade level: Preschool. 60 pages.

Flush!: The Scoop on Poop throughout the Ages written and illustrated by Charise Mericle Harper (Little)
Thirteen poems skim the history of human waste, shedding irreverent but edifying light on everything from “Before Toilet Paper” to “Toilets in Space.” Grade level: 1–5. 32 pages.

Amazing You!: Getting Smart about Your Private Parts written by Gail Saltz, illus. by Lynne Cravath (Dutton)
Comfortable and positive preschool primer that names and explains sex organs without mentioning sexual relations. Grade level: Preschool. 32 pages.

Guts: Our Digestive System by Seymour Simon (HarperCollins)
A study of digestion that seamlessly interweaves suggestions for active exploration with an introduction to sophisticated terminology and ideas. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Sneeze! written by by Alexandra Siy, illustrated with photos by the author and with photomicrographs by Dennis Kunkel (Charlesbridge)
Black-and-white photographs and amazing false-color photomicrographs detail the things that make us sneeze and the body parts responsible for the sneeze reflex. Grade level: K–3. 48 pages.

Intermediate
Suggested grade level for each entry: 4–6

Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable written by Nicola Davies, illus. by Neal Layton (Candlewick)
How poop is used by animals in their everyday lives and by naturalists, paleontologists, and biologists in their studies. 61 pages.

What’s Eating You?: Parasites—The Inside Story written by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Neal Layton (Candlewick)
Catering to kids who like their science creepy-crawly, the acclaimed duo explore the world of the “more than 430 different kinds of parasites that can live on a human body…or in one.” 64 pages.

Guinea Pig Scientists: Bold Self-Experimenters in Science and Medicine by Leslie Dendy and Mel Boring, illus. by C. B. Mordan (Holt)
Fascinating and sometimes gruesome tales of ten experimenters who furthered their fields by serving as their own subjects. 214 pages.

Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story about Brain Science by John Fleischman (Houghton)
In 1848, Gage became the subject of a virulent medical debate after a severe head injury left him physically healthy but altered in personality and judgment. 86 pages.

Outside and Inside Mummies by Sandra Markle (Walker)
The ways mummies provide scientific clues to ancient civilizations’ diets, activities, death rituals, and even climate conditions. 40 pages.

Dr. Jenner and the Speckled Monster: The Search for the Smallpox Vaccine by Albert Marrin (Dutton)
How one surgeon embraced experimentation to develop his vaccine against one of the world’s deadliest scourges. 121 pages.

Young Adult Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 7 and up

Invisible Allies: Microbes That Shape Our Lives by Jeanette Farrell (Farrar)
A substantial and successful meld of science and social history that offers intriguing insights into human dependence on microorganisms. 165 pages.

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