This is the first blog post in my new blog, THE SUM OF OUR PARTS. To say it is in its formative stage is an understatement. I'm not quite sure where this will lead. But my goal is to use this blog (and my series of rhyming anatomical picture books) as a learning resource about things anatomical.
Of course, all this assumes I will have (or make) sufficient time to establish this blog as a meaningful destination so readers will indeed want to know more. To kick it off, I leave you with a few reviews of the very first book in the series. With that, I give you "No Bones About It". Tuesday, October 13, 2009 reviewed by Seth (age 8) on the “Kids Of Character” Blog:
“It was long, but I loved it. It told me things that I did not know. For instance, I did not know that we have 206 bones. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I did know, however, that without our bones we would be wobbly, gobbly goop. I did not know that without your legs your spine would be crooked and stuff... (and) that our skull does not have any ears. The pictures in the story are amazing. I wonder how they figure that stuff out? The author is Bill Kirk and Eugene Ruble is the artist.”
Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Cheryl Malandrinos at “The Kids Book Connection” Blog:
This rhyming book to help children learn more about their bones takes the dull art of learning and turns it into fun. No Bones About It… is just one in a series of The Sum of Our Partsbooks by Bill Kirk. Listing bones from bottom to top and learning their names and what they do becomes easier with Kirk’s witty rhymes; and when put together with the superb illustrations by Eugene Ruble, you’ve got a real winner. Learning just doesn’t get any more fun than this!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 on the “Home Grown Mommy” Blog:
This book had me singing about Dem Dry Bones! (just for the fun of it!) I love how this book produced an anatomony lesson in a rhyme. The illustrations were just hilarious. The kids and I had a great time reading through the book several times. You will not only learn about which bone connects to which, but many other facts about ‘dem bones in your body as you read the accompanying “factoids”.
Since it is presented in a rhyme, this book would be a fabulous way for your older students to memorize the order of the bones in the human body.Sunday, October 11, 2009 by Kimberly on the “We Love To Homeschool” Blog:
I will say up front that this book was my favorite. I can truly see my children learning the names and locations of the bones using this book.
Starting from our toes and working up to our head, each page has a poem for a particular bone. The poems are short and simple, and several are humorous. The suggested age range is 8-13. I think my 7 year old could learn the bone names from the poems.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 by Charla Miley on the “For What It’s Worth” Blog:
Did you know that an average person experiences two bone breaks during their lifetime? Or which body part is a “sesamoid bone in a ligament trap”? You would if you had read this book. It takes learning about the skeletal system to a whole new level.
There is a very large amount of information provided, but it is not overwhelming. The illustrations are extremely creative (giving the bones ‘faces’ and expressions). It was different from any other approaches to this topic that I have seen, and my boys loved it. I was impressed with the amount of information that stuck with them several days after reading the book. There were also several pages of bonus and reference materials included.
Overall, we thought that this was a creative resource that presented basic information in a unique way, and I am sure we will refer back to it often.
