Biology (Medicine and Health)
Spotlight long review:
Arnold, Nick. How to Live Forever/ Nick Arnold ; illustrated by Tim Benton. Franklin Watts, Incorporated; 1st American edition 2001. ISBN: 0531146413 (Ages 9-12) Grade: C-
"It is possible (even probable) that How to Live Forever is an elaborate, tongue-in-cheek presentation of the current state of medicine. However, this is never made clear. How to Live Forever presents itself as a How To guide for anyone interested in defying biology. It enthusiastically proclaims, "People are living longer than before, and some scientists are talking excitedly about extending human lives for hundreds of years. Find out how as you read about..." (p7). The author then claims the book will explain "killer diseases and how to beat them," "how to replace your old body parts with new ones," and more (p7). There is more of concern in this book than its dubious title and mission, there are additional concerns with vocabulary, authority, subject treatment, and the nature of the illustrations." Please read the entire review by Taryn Hettlinger an MLIS student at UIUC. ©2003 Taryn Hettlinger. All rights reserved. (11-03)
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Scientist Reivew: Barbee, Michael Politically Incorrect Nutrition: Finding Reality in the Mire of Food Industry Propaganda.
Vital Health Publishing, 2004. ISBN: 1890612340 Ages: High School+
It seems like so much of the information we internalize is gathered from news snippets and commercials. We hear things like: eggs are bad; drink lots of milk and green tea. The problem is that we are not sure why these things are true. How many of us hear the snippet and then spend the time reading all the opposing scientific papers to determine why the statement was made so we can make informed decisions about making a change in our diet? Michael Barbee has done the research for us in his book Politically Incorrect Nutrition: Finding Reality in the Mire of Food Industry Propaganda.
The book covers a variety of nutritional topics and challenges conventional thinking citing historical sources as to why we believe certain things. For example, the conventional thinking on eating eggs is that we shouldn't eat too many as they are high in fat and cholesterol or that we should throw out the yolk and only eat the white. The author takes us through the history of why eggs were originally found to be unhealthy-a study conducted on dried egg yolk powder, not whole, fresh, organic, free-range chicken eggs. Since 1945 egg consumption has dropped by almost 50%, yet there has not been a subsequent drop in heart disease. The author says that eggs are nutrient dense and that "eggs have the best nutrient package of any food we can eat." He ties in the politics of cholesterol paranoia by making the connection with greedy corporate America. The emphasis placed on cholesterol being bad is misguided and has led the drug companies to earn mega-bucks by selling cholesterol lowering drugs (statins) to unsuspecting citizens.
Assumptions made about eggs are just one topic covered in this book. There are also chapters on green tea, soy, cholesterol, conjugated linoleic acid, fluoridation, aspartame, osteoporosis, bovine growth hormone, plastics and microwaves, vitamin C, food irradiation, and vegetarianism. The book concludes with a chapter on whether or not there is indeed a perfect "best diet" for everybody.
If you are like me, you are constantly questioning conventional thinking. Politically Incorrect Nutrition questions our conventional thinking on foods. But don't take my word for it, read the book and find out!
C.J. Wong, M.S.(Biology), M.S. (Lib. Info. Sci.) Editor, Organic Family Magazine |
Curry, Don L. How does your brain work? / by Don L. Curry ;
consultants, Nanci R. Vargus, Su Tien Wong. New York : Children's Press,
c2003. 0516258591 [Rookie read-about health] (Ages 5-7) Grade: B+/A-
Simple discussion of the brain, its parts, and its functions. Explains neurons and the spinal cord, too. For example, "Your brain may have as many as 100 billion (BIL-yuhn) neurons (NOO-rahnz) to do its work." Illustrations are functional, however the photos are good. Ends with a "words you know" review of vocabulary. Includes an index. KWR (05-04)
Curry, Don L. How does your heart work? / by Don L. Curry ;
consultants, Jayne Waddell, Jeanne Clidas. New York : Children's Press,
c2003. 0516258613 [Rookie read-about health] (Ages 5-7) Grade: B+/A-
Simple, but informative, discussion of the heart and the circulatory system. Illustrations are functional, however the photos are good. Ends with a "words you know" review of vocabulary. Includes an index. KWR (05-04)
Spotlight long review:
Fleischman, John. Phineas Gage : a gruesome but true story about brain science / by John Fleischman. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2002. ISBN: 0618052526 (Ages 10+) Grade: A+
"Tackling Neuroscience is a challenging subject for any audience. It is a credit to Fleischman's abilities as a writer and storyteller that he is able to engage the reader. His commitment to telling Phineas' story while incorporating scientific and historical facts helped to put a human face on what could have been a very dry and clinical discussion of brain science. With its engaging narrative and clear explanations of complex subject matter this book will appeal to readers as young as the 5th grade level, while still holding the interest of much older readers, like me." Please read the entire review by Maria F. Villanueva a UIUC MLIS student. ©2003 Maria F. Villanueva. All rights reserved. (11-03) [Cross-listed in Biography]
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Frost, Helen.
Hearing / by Helen Frost ; consulting editor, Gail Saunders-Smith ; consultant, Eric H. Chudler.
Mankato, Minn. : Pebble Books, 2000. ISBN:
0736803823 (Ages 4-6) [The Senses Series] Grade: A
Great introduction to words and concepts related to sound and hearing. (Ages 4-6) KWR, UIUC MLIS. (01-04)
Ganeri, Anita. Your digestive system / by Anita Ganeri. Milwaukee, WI, USA : Gareth Stevens Pub., 2003. [ Originally published: Feeling hungry? London : Evans, 2002.] [How Your Body Works Series] 0836836332 (lib. bdg.) (Ages 4-8) Grade: A-
Your Digestive System uses conversational language and bright illustrations and photographs to describe the digestive process. The book is colorful and has an easy to follow layout. I especially liked the photographs of such things as taste buds and what the walls of your small intestines look like under a microscope. Includes a simple matching activity and suggests additional recourses Has a glossary and an index. KWR, UIUC MLIS. (01-04)
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Scientist Review: Kelleher, Colm A. Brain Trust : The Hidden Connection Between Mad Cow and Misdiagnosed Alzheimer's Disease. Paraview Pocket Books, 2004. Ages: High School+ 0743499352
Brain Trust has all the makings of a good horror novel. There are many deaths, cover-ups and even cannibalism. The only problem is that it was NOT a work of fiction by Stephen King. It is the horror story of how Mad Cow disease came to be discovered. This terrifying tale begins with researchers in Papua New Guinea studying the Fore people and the illness they were succumbing to called Kuru.
The story unfolds over five decades and reveals the scary details of the spreading disease and the stark reality of how unsafe our food supply is. I distinctly remember the first time I heard about prions and it scared me terribly with good reason. Prions are not a virus or bacteria, but a protein with an odd shape that can apparently multiply and are zoonotic (passed between species).
This book covers the history of how the various forms of prion disease (scrapie in sheep, chronic wasting disease in wildlife like deer, bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cows, and Creuztfeldt-Jakob disease in humans) came to be known. Included are the stories of the researchers, what is known to this point, and how it is spread including the details of the outbreak in England. We would be wise to heed to warnings of this book, in light of the recent confirmed case of mad cow in the U.S. The author also makes the link between misdiagnosed Alzheimer's disease and Creuztfeldt-Jakob disease.
This book beautifully written and reads like a thrilling mystery, but is much more scary because it is real. I commend the Dr. Kelleher for his research on this topic and providing citizens with this overview. This is a must read for anyone concerned about the politics and safety of food.
C.J. Wong, M.S.(Biology), M.S. (Lib. Info. Sci.) Editor, Organic Family Magazine
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Librarian Recommended Sex Ed Books: These are a few of the books that librarians have suggest as good resources of information.
Mills, Andy. Shapesville / Andy Mills and Becky Osborn ; illustrated by Erica Neitz.
1st ed.
Carlsbad, CA : Gurze Books, 2003. Ages 4-8. Grade: A
Shapesville, told in simple rhyme, addresses self-acceptance and diversity. It encourages children to look beyond color and body shape. It stresses that there are many different ways that people can shine (sports, music, academics, etc). Nutrition and exercise are briefly mentioned. The book design is bright and Neitz's illustrations are bold, quirky, and funky. KWR (06-04)
Spotlight long review:
Murphy, Jim. An American plague : the true and terrifying story of the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 / by Jim Murphy. New York : Clarion Books, 2003. ISBN: 0395776082 (alk. paper) (Ages 10+) Grade: A+
"The title tells it all in this gripping and informative look at the yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793. Murphy chronicles the beginning and spread of the disease that raged out of control in Philadelphia from Saturday, August 3, 1793 to January of 1794 (and then reappeared successive times over the next 100+ years, in Philadelphia and in other places) from both a broad historical view and a personalized "right in the thick of it" view. He introduces and characterizes important people and groups--Dr. Benjamin Rush, George Washington, Mayor Clarkson, the Free African Society, the Bush Hill hospital--in three-dimensional terms. He also covers the symptoms of the disease itself, the medical practices and beliefs of the time, the folkloristic home remedies used to treat the disease, the city's environment in terms of water, sewage, food supply, and the city's political, class, and race struggles. Through it all, he offers an in-depth look of what it was like to live in the nation's then capital during this time of crisis. He then jumps forward to discuss other yellow fever outbreaks and how it eventually came to pass that the mosquito was discovered as the carrier of the disease, and he extends his research even further to show how these yellow fever epidemics relate to our current society ("there is still no cure for yellow fever")." Please read the entire review by Krista Hutley, a UIUC MLIS student. ©2003 Krista Hutley. All rights reserved. (11-03) |
Riley, Peter. Life cycles / written by Peter Riley. Milwaukee, Wis. : Gareth Stevens
Pub., 2004. ISBN: 0836837169 (Ages 4-8) [Everyday science series] Grade:
B
Discusses the life cycle of humans and other mammals, plants, insects,
frogs, reptiles, and birds. The concept of fertilization is not
mentioned and the sexes are only alluded to once where a cat that had
kittens was noted to be a she. In the discussion of reptiles, it seems
all snakes can lay eggs based on this sentence. "When a reptile such
as a snake is fully grown, it can also lay eggs." That seems a little
too vague. The text asks the reader simple questions and provides
answers at the back of the book. Most people shown in the photographs
are white. Life Cycles includes a simple glossary, bibliography and
index. [See index for other titles in this series by Peter Riley.] KWR, UIUC MLIS. (01-04)
Scholastic's The magic school bus explores the human body CD-ROM [Redmond, Wash.?] : Microsoft Home, c1996. Grade: A-
"I recommend the Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body CD-ROM. It's a great introduction to the human body for kids already familiar and enthusiastic about Ms. Frizzle and her class. We had several computers in our Hands-on-Science room at the museum I worked at where we rotated several CD-ROMs. The Magic School Bus CDs were by far the most popular with children of a wide age range without any sort of guide. In fact, these were the only CDs we could use where we didn't have kids asking for help because they could easily figure these out on their own. I think that some adults have trouble with these but it appears to be very intuitive for the children who use them." © 2003 Marissa Goodell, MLIS LEEP Student UIUC (November 2003)
Stille, Darlene. The nervous system / by Darlene R. Stille. New York : Children's Press, c1997. 0516204459 Ages 8-12 [A True Book] series Grade: A
Another excellent book by Stille. She nicely organizes the information and explains the nervous system. She explains how "the brain is the center of our emotions" (8). Covers the central, peripheral, and automatic nervous systems. Detailed description of the brain, spinal cord, nerve cells (i.e. axons can be more than 3 feet long), how nerves talk, and nerves and muscles. There is a list of print, web, and other resources, a glossary, and index. KWR (10-04)
Wallace, Holly. Cells and systems / Holly Wallace. Chicago : Heinemann Library, c2001. 1575723360 (library) Ages 9-13 [Life Processes] Grade: A
Starts by explaining what cells are and comparing plant and animal cells. Several pages describe the parts of plants, making food, respiration, inside a leaf and "plant plumbing". The rest of the book explores human cells and covers such topics as bones, muscles, systems (circulatory, digestive, respiratory, nervous), waste and water, your senses, and reproduction. The book design is clear and colorful. The are excellent photographs (many magnified views of cells) and illustrations (many labeled). There is also a glossary, bibliography, and index. KWR (9-04)
Spotlight long review:
Yagyu, Genichiro. All About Scabs / Genichiro Yagyu and translated by Amanda Mayer Stinchecum. Kane/Miller Publishers, 1998. ISBN: 0916291820 (Ages 4-7). Favorably reviewed
"In the book All About Scabs ( Scabs ), author Genichiro Yagyu offers children an in-depth look at scabs, their formation, the biological principles behind them, and their fascinating variations. In addition, Yagyu represents a variety of opinions about scabs and tackles one of the key experiences of scabbiness: the desire to pick. Overall, Scabs offers readers a basic explanation of scab formation, an introduction to the human immune system, and the role skin plays as a barrier to infection. It is informative, funny in places and thorough enough in its coverage of scabs to live up to its ambitious title." Please read the entire review by Ciara Healy, UIUC MS Library Science. © 2003 Ciara Healy. (11-03) |
