The human body is like a huge city, with millions of inhabitants called cells.

REVIEWS:

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Grade 4–7. Simon has been cruising through the human body for a number of years, and here he pulls all the pieces together and adds a bit to the mix as he presents a cool look at the human interior. Lavishly illustrated with large computer-colored X-rays, MRI scans, computer artwork, and diagrams, the book is an eye-catcher. The text is clear and informative. While human reproduction is mentioned, as is fetal development, the photos provided depict a colored SEM micrograph of a human egg and sperm, a close-up SEM micrograph of a sperm fertilizing an egg, and a six-week-old human fetus floating in amniotic fluid. Simpler than Richard Walker’s ever-so-detailed Encyclopedia of the Human Body (DK, 2002) and a nice introduction to Simon’s earlier, more specific works, this book is handsome and informative. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Grade 4–7. Simon has been cruising through the human body for a number of years, and here he pulls all the pieces together and adds a bit to the mix as he presents a cool look at the human interior. Lavishly illustrated with large computer-colored X-rays, MRI scans, computer artwork, and diagrams, the book is an eye-catcher. The text is clear and informative. While human reproduction is mentioned, as is fetal development, the photos provided depict a colored SEM micrograph of a human egg and sperm, a close-up SEM micrograph of a sperm fertilizing an egg, and a six-week-old human fetus floating in amniotic fluid. Simpler than Richard Walker's ever-so-detailed Encyclopedia of the Human Body (DK, 2002) and a nice introduction to Simon's earlier, more specific works, this book is handsome and informative.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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BOOKLIST, Carolyn Phelan

With its square format, striking illustrations, and bold black-on-white or white-on-black type, this book resembles Simon’s earlier volumes on systems of the body such as Guts: Our Digestive System (2005) and The Brain: Our Nervous System (1997). In fact, those…

With its square format, striking illustrations, and bold black-on-white or white-on-black type, this book resembles Simon’s earlier volumes on systems of the body such as Guts: Our Digestive System (2005) and The Brain: Our Nervous System (1997). In fact, those books are the source of some material that appears here, sometimes rewritten, sometimes reworded, and sometimes simply repeated. Just as text from those books has been pared down to fit the more limited space devoted to each subject in the new one, some of the related illustrations have been omitted. However, the book includes eye-catching new images and entirely new, clearly written sections of text discussing the integumentary system (skin, hair, nails), the urinary and excretory systems, the lymphatic system, and the reproductive system. A nice addition is the appended guide to the illustrations, though captions near the pictures and labeling on diagrams would have been even more useful to children. Still, a visually striking guide to the human body. Grades 4-7.

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THE WASHINGTON POST, McGanney Abby Nolan

Featuring such wonders as a full-page cross section of human skin (looking a little like a kitchen sponge that’s outlived its usefulness), Seymour Simon’s explanation of our bodily systems is another compelling marriage of images and facts.

Featuring such wonders as a full-page cross section of human skin (looking a little like a kitchen sponge that's outlived its usefulness), Seymour Simon's explanation of our bodily systems is another compelling marriage of images and facts.

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VOYA, Rachel Wadham

Two power houses in the diffusion of scientific knowledge, author Simon and the Smithsonian Institution, join together to create an outstanding book that fosters an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the component parts of the human body. This…

Two power houses in the diffusion of scientific knowledge, author Simon and the Smithsonian Institution, join together to create an outstanding book that fosters an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the component parts of the human body. This brief work packs in astonishing amounts of data as it covers the twelve major systems and each of the five senses through two-page spreads of text and illustrations. The text is very informative and filled with extremely accurate tidbits of practical information as well as many other little-known facts, analogies, and things that are just fun to know. The illustrations composed of colored X-rays and MRI scans, microscopic images, medical illustrations, and computer-generated artwork are the crowning glory of this work. Each one is remarkably bold, colorful, powerful, and detailed. They take the reader up close and personal to interior and exterior views of the human body's systems, creating a unique visual experience that is informative and emotional. A complete listing in the back of the book identifies each image and how it was captured. The perfect combination of matter-of-fact text and outstanding illustrations make this book a superior addition to any collection where it is sure to be a jumping off point for many readers in their continued discovery and exploration of the human body.

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KIRKUS REVIEWS

The latest in Simon’s seemingly endless series of nonfiction books published in conjunction with the Smithsonian, this one fares better than most, perhaps because the subject matter is large and fascinating. The work covers the 12 major systems of the…

The latest in Simon's seemingly endless series of nonfiction books published in conjunction with the Smithsonian, this one fares better than most, perhaps because the subject matter is large and fascinating. The work covers the 12 major systems of the body (skeletal, muscular, etc.), devoting a few pages to each. Rounding out the volume, the author briefly covers genetics, the five senses and human growth and development. The pictures-most of them scanning electron microscope images or X-rays of actual body parts-are brilliant, but lack accompanying captions, which make them hard to understand (explanations of the images appear after the index). A clear sense of organization, some subheadings and fewer "gee-whiz" graphics would improve the book, but for an overview it isn't bad. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 6-10)

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