My Bones (Pebble Books)

Carol K. Lindeen is a Capstone Author.

While many delightful children s books for early readers engage small children with such euphemisms as tummy, poop, and pee, books that use proper language for body parts and functions have an equally important role.  Books about your stomach, you urine, and other basic terms familiarize students with, and place importance on, the terms they will use in school. Kudos go to author Carol Lindeen, who has written six small books that introduce beginning readers to human body parts and their functions.  Lindeen may avoid intimidating most early readers with the slightly higher level words, such as stomach or muscle, by using only one to one to two higher level body part words per book. Although perhaps lacking the reading appeal of a storybook, these books are well designed for the youngest readers.  Each book is small enough for little hands; is full of colorful illustrations; focuses on only one body part; is short (containing no more than 200 words); and has only one to two sentences per page. The information presented is accurate and the graphics are colorful.  However, not all of the graphics are well marked, so students may be unable to connect a particular picture with the text pertaining to it.  Adults may need to help young learners find their own joints, muscles, and other body parts. --Science Books & Films; Vol. 43, No. 4; Pages 184-185, July 2007

This series about investigating your body offers easy-to-read sentences composed of carefully chosen words in six volumes.  In addition to encouraging a child s independent learning through successful reading, these volumes introduce basic tools of reference like table of contents, index, glossary, and additional resources.  The predictable structure of this series that is, text on the right page, picture on the left leaves no confusion.  The series is illustrated with both photographs and diagrams.  Designed to address national science curriculum standards, this series allows early readers to read basic facts about human anatomy and body structure and function. Recommended. --Library Media Connection; Vol. 26, No. 2; Page 89, October 2007

In this book, a part of the My Body series, Lindeen explains the basics of the skeletal system in a three part, first person narrative. The first section, My Bones, explains what the skeletal system is and why it is important. On the Inside, the second section, covers how bones give the body its shape and is complemented by basic illustrations. Lastly, My Bones and My Body unite the two concepts, allowing children to understand the relationship between muscles and bones and the role of nutrition. The pages contain full-page pictures of both color photographs and illustrations. The text is designed to help readers grasp new concepts and subject-specific vocabulary, such as: joint, muscle, protect, ribs, skeleton, and spine, which are defined in the Glossary. Also included are a Read More section, a brief list of books related to the skeletal system, and an explanation of where readers can find more information on the Internet. With short sentences and large bold type, My Bones is a sturdy choice for young readers learning about anatomy. --Childrens Literature Comprehensive Database, January 2007