Today I am excited to share an excellent book series for children. It’s the Human Body Detectives series by Dr. Heather Manley. This post will be kinda long because I have had the pleasure of receiving all three books in the series for review. Each will be reviewed here, then – at the very end – there is a giveaway! So, don’t let the length of the post scare you away!

About Dr. Heather Manley and the Human Body Detectives series: Where did the idea for the Human Body Detectives (HBD) series come from?

Human Body Detectives (HBD) was created to inspire children to be proactive and confident in striving for their own optimal health.

Dr. Heather is a parent, a Canadian and a naturopathic doctor whose search for books and resources that provide healthy eating tips for kids and parents left her empty handed. That’s when she discovered that the best way to educate families about healthy eating and body care is through fun, engaging, entertaining, and educational methods.

Dr. Heather’s kids LOVE being a part of Human Body Detectives and are passionate about sharing their love of healthy eating with other families.

Find out more about Dr. Heather on her Web site: http://www.drheathernd.com/
Find out more about the Human Body Detectives series on its site: http://www.humanbodydetectives.com/

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Case File #1: The Lucky Escape

Summary: Merrin and Pearl’s little brother Robbie has swallowed a penny! Through magic and imagination they find themselves on an adventure through his digestive system where they must grab the penny, save Robbie and narrowly escape his poopy diaper. Through their journey down the esophagus, into the stomach, and through the intestines, the girls experience some close calls – almost being squirted with hydrochloric acid and being bumped by gas bubbles. Their encounters force them to learn first hand all about the digestive system and why it is so important to eat healthy foods.

My Thoughts: Before I read it, I gave this book to my 8-year-old daughter to read. She was very interested from the get-go, when I gave her the book and she looked at the cover. It probably helps that she often says she wants to be a detective. She summed up her opinion in two quick sentences:

I liked it. There were some funny parts.

My 8-year-old is not quite the bookworm I am, so I am quite pleased in any book that gets a very positive response from her. And, trust me, this was a very positive response! Plus, she agreed to read the other two books very eagerly. (Perhaps there’s some hope for her yet! )

When it was my turn to read it, it was easy to see why she found it funny: talk about farts and poop. What youngster doesn’t find such talk even mildly entertaining? As I was reading, there were a couple of words I stumbled over, pronunciation wise, but there’s a glossary in the back that gives definitions and pronunciations. Problem solved.

The story is engaging and full of important information. At the same time, it’s not preachy. The facts are integral parts of the story. After the narrative is over, we have a short informative part that fully explains the facts behind digestion. The bigger, scientific words are in green, which indicates that they can be found in the aforementioned glossary. Next, we have a couple of pages of some interesting facts:

• the stomach has 35 million digestive glands
• on average, a healthy person farts 16 times a day
• Americans eat over 2 billion pounds of chocolate a year

Next is the importance of eating a colorful diet, followed by a series of jokes – which, again, my kids loved!

After she finished, I asked her if she’s willing to read the other two, and she was happy to do so – even though it meant extra reading!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Case File #2: Battle with the Bugs

Summary: Merrin and Pearl’s little cousin Max is sick, threatening everyone’s Mexican holiday. This time the girls find themselves in Max’s body, witnessing firsthand the immune system in action. They befriend a white blood cell warrior who leads them into battle against the offending bacteria, and listeners learn why it’s important not to eat candy and sugar when you have an illness – it can fuel bacteria and viruses and make you feel sicker.

My Thoughts: As with the first, I had my 8-year-old read this before I did. While she was reading, I overheard the following:

I knew they were in the nose! That’s disgusting!

Eeewww! Mucus!

Not surprisingly, she said the jokes were her favorite part.

Following the same format as the first book, Battle of the Bugs is a great book. The story is interesting and exciting, and no less informative. After the narrative, we have a section with more information on the immune system, interesting facts, part on eating colorful foods to help your immune system, the ever-popular jokes, and a glossary. A couple of the jokes:

Why did the student eat his homework?
The teacher told him it was a piece of cake!

Why did the boy blush when he opened the fridge?
He saw the salad dressing!

Why did the germ cross the microscope?
To get to the other slide!

I think this might have been my daughter’s favorite, simply because of the gross factor. But I don’t know, because she did like the farts and such in the first book!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Case File #3: A Heart Pumping Adventure

Summary: While eating a breakfast with her dad, Merrin wonders about her father’s eating habits and the condition of his heart. Suddenly, Merrin and Pearl find themselves riding on a red, pillowy, donut-shaped boat, floating on a red colored sea, and surrounded by hundreds of grape-like things! Where are the girls and where are they headed? Through their adventures we learn about the difference between healthy and unhealthy fats – and why the girls’ dad needs to eat more nuts and salads.

My Thoughts: As with the first two, I had my daughter read this book first. She gobbled it up and read it quickly. Her verdict:

Pretty good.

I think she spent the most time telling everyone in the family the jokes! LOL

Following the same format as the other books in this series, A Heart Pumping Adventure also has a short section on how to take your pulse. I didn’t feel like this one was quite as exciting as the other two, but it’s still just as informative. And, most importantly, my 8-year-old loved it as much as the others. And that’s really what matters.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Verdict: Human Body Detectives series

The Human Body Detective series of books for children is an excellent, informative, and fun set of books for kids. Perfect for helping teach kids about various systems in the body – and why it’s important to eat right and get some exercise – these books are a valuable addition to any home library. I would highly recommend this for parents – and would love to see these books make their way into school libraries!

Source: Books sent by author in exchange for an honest review.

Read Them: The Human Body Detectives books can be purchased directly through the Web site HERE.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

*****WIN IT*****

Dr. Heather Manley has offered one copy of the winner’s choice of one of these three books. To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget – COMMENTS DO NOT COUNT AS ENTRIES.

Giveaway ends at 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on Sunday, October 30, 2011. Must be 13 or older to enter. Entry is open to those in the U.S. and Canada. Winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter once the giveaway has ended, and will be contacted by e-mail. Failure to respond within 48 hours will result in forfeiture of prize, and a new winner will be selected.

♥

FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.