With a lively text and simple, colorful illustrations, this picture book explains a lot of human anatomy and physiology to young children. What's more, Sweeney makes it a continuous story. A girl talks about her skin; then beneath her skin are her bones (and she talks about them); attached to her bones are her muscles, which move because her brain tells them to; and her brain and body need energy, which they get from the blood. . . . The pictures of the child, inside and out, are as clear and informative as the words, showing how the parts of the body work and the connections between them. The casual tone (My brain is the boss of my body) never condescends; in fact, children will feel the wonder of the scientific story that builds to the amazing climax: every person in the world has a body that's very much the same, but every person is also very different. (Reviewed August 1999)

A narrator who looks a bit like a kewpie doll with a missing tooth names and states the functions of major body parts while bright Popsicle-colored illustrations provide the visuals. In a final double-page spread, prescriptive text and a group of multi-ethnic and variously abled and sized kids make sure readers get the message about how we're all the same and yet different. A few "amazing facts" are appended.

PreS-Gr 2-In this delightful concept book, a girl gives readers a guided tour of her "amazing body," illustrated with colorful cartoon art. The child talks about the parts of the body that she can see, but mostly about those she can't. She describes the functions of her skin, bones, muscles, brain, blood, heart, lungs, and stomach in an engaging and accessible way. For example, when discussing muscles, the girl states that, "They stretch and shrink like rubber bands." She says that her heart is "like my own little engine." The book ends with the affirmation that while everyone's body is similar, each individual is unique. A page of "Amazing Body Facts" is appended. The drawings are scientifically sound and well incorporated into the picture-book format. An informative and enjoyable title.-Susan Knell, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.