Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

This unusual comparison of human and animal skeletons and the functions for which they've adapted begins by positing an existence without any bones: "It wouldn't be pretty." Readers are asked to guess what animal they'd be if various bones were missing or elongated or super-strong. Playful illustrations contain carefully rendered bone details. A great way to introduce skeletal systems. Reading list, websites. Glos.

School Library Journal (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

K-Gr 2 Levine takes a unique approach to comparative anatomy. The purpose of the book is to illustrate differences between human and animal bone structures. Each page presents a question, e.g., "What kind of animal would you be if your finger bones grew so long that they reached your feet?" The answer is revealed with the turn of the page ("A bat!"). The bright, stylized, color illustrations match each question, portraying cartoon children with distorted anatomy, such as a girl with a neck like a giraffe's, or a snake with a human head. Some may find the gloppy piles of cartoon children with no bones unappetizing, while others may find the peculiar images amusing. Many of the riddlelike questions will play well in a storytime setting, allowing readers to ask a question and permitting children to imagine and participate in the answer. Bone by Bone does not have the detailed informational content or illustrative depth of Steve Parker's Skeleton (DK, 1988), but it does succeed in presenting basic structural differences among animals. This unusual book is interactive and thought-provoking, if a little gross in certain sections. Jeffrey Meyer, Mount Pleasant Public Library, IA

ALA Booklist (Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Alongside an illustration of skin collected in goopy puddles upon the sidewalk, the author asks, "Have you ever wondered what we would look like if we didn't have any bones?" Children will enjoy the humorous illustrations and labeled diagrams as they predict the morphing of a human skeleton, Dr. Moreau style, into that of various animals. By adding vertebrae to a boy's back esto! has a tail. And by removing leg and arm bones, just like that he becomes a snake. The author makes a careful distinction between vertebrate and vertebrae, but adults will likely have to make further explanations to younger children. Then, with the question, "Could you be an animal if you didn't have any bones at all?" the book switches briefly to invertebrates. With its wild, inventive, and occasionally alarming animal-human mash-ups, this works as a lighter companion to Steve Jenkins' Bones: Skeletons and How They Work (2010).

Kirkus Reviews

An intriguing combination of questions, answers and playful illustrations presents the comparative anatomy of animals, based on their bones, in an original way, with mixed results. What if you had no bones at all? What would you look like with bones at the end of your spine? What if your hand bones reached your feet? What animal would you look like? The author, a biologist and veterinarian, has taught children's environmental-education classes as well as college students. Her "what if" questions are right on target for young learners, connecting them to the subject and extending their imaginations. She covers the differences between vertebrates and invertebrates and some skeletal particulars, but this is more a collection of intriguing points than an organized introduction. Unfortunately, the presentation gets in the way of the information. Questions and explanations appear in both a chunky letterpress and hand-lettered–like sans-serif style; answers are in uppercase; this busy typography won't help fledgling readers. Spookytooth's illustrations use a diverse group of children to demonstrate major points. These pictures add humor, and some are instructive as well, though others are confusing. Side-by-side human and animal skeletons have major parts labeled; later X-ray views are less meaningful. For organized information, Steve Jenkins' Bones: Skeletons and How They Work (2010) is a better choice. Amusing enough, but there is little intellectual meat on these bones. (more about bones and vertebrates, glossary, further reading) (Informational picture book. 5-9)