Guts: Our Digestive System
by
Seymour Simon
Order:
USA
Can
HarperCollins, 2005 (2005)
Hardcover
Read an Excerpt
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
H
aving recently gone over the digestive system with my son for high school biology, I was very interested in Seymour Simon's take on
Guts
. He can always be counted on to make science engaging for younger readers, and the photographs and illustrations here make complex information comprehensible.
S
imon begins by telling us that '
The digestive system turns the truckload of sandwiches, milk, salads and pizza that you eat each year into the energy and nutrients that your body needs.
' His analogies aid in quick understanding, as in his likening of
peristalsis
(muscular movement of food down the esophagus) to squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Similarly, a comparison of the movement of villi in the small intestine to '
a field of wheat in the wind
' is memorable and catches the imagination.
A
s always, Seymour Simon does a wonderful job of explaining in
Guts
exactly what '
You are what you eat
' means. Read his science books along with a child - you're both likely to learn something.
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