The Body Book

Sara Stein is a science writer with a special gift: to "explain things in ways that kids can relate to and turn science into an adventure" (Los Angeles Times).

Crammed with facts, statistics, connections, and explanations, The Body Book is the fascinating and dramatic story of who we are, from the perilous journey of sperm to egg-the only human cell visible to the naked eye-to the human brain, product of more than 3 billion years of evolution that began with a bacteria's ability to judge between sweet and sour.

Explaining the digestive system as a molecular disassembly line and the liver as the body's primary environmental protection agency, the book details how all ingredients for life are recycled, how vaccines work, how tears actually "wash away" sadness, why injured areas become warm, and why crash diets fail (they actually hone the body's fat-storing skills). Throughout the book are amazing figures: the 2,000 square feet of surface area from mouth to sphincter, the 500 million cells that fall off our skin daily, and the mere gram of pigment difference between "black" and "white." Complementing the prose are over 300 detailed illustrations and 150 black-and-white photographs. Suitable for ages 11-14. 37,000 copies in print.