Human Body Theater by Maris Wicks

For readers who like their anatomy lessons with a whole lot of kawaii and a little bit of humor on the side, Wicks has crafted a new hit.  In eleven chapters a humorous skeleton narrates a guided theatrical tour of the skeletal, muscular, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, excretory, endocrine, reproductive, immune, and nervous systems, and follows all of that up with an explanation of how our five senses work.  A wonderful text for health and physical education instruction, especially teachers seeking to create and build body schema among students who don’t lean toward textbooks, this text is also an interesting example of a hybrid text for ELA teachers introducing non-fiction.  Human Body Theater includes a table of contents, a glossary, a bibliography, and recommended reading.  Slick production values with gorgeous full-color pages make this title appealing to younger readers as well as its intended middle school audience. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Wicks, Maris.  Human Body Theater: A Non-fiction Revue.  New York: First Second, 2015.

Why Are We Still Getting HIV? Teens Respond to the AIDS Epidemic Edited by Laura Longhine

35.3 million people are living with HIV around the world, according to UNAIDS, cited on HIVaware.org.uk.  35.3 million.  Asking anyone to contemplate the size of that number is a challenge, and Youth Communication’s Why Are We Still Getting HIV? offers numerous angles from which teachers, parents, and other youth workers (including peer educators) can approach the topic through interviews and personal narratives.  This collection includes both anonymous and credited teen authors’ perspectives on HIV, ranging from what it’s like to go for a first HIV test (“What If…” by Anonymous), to having a peer or adult share their positive status (“Saying Goodbye to Uncle Nick,” by Josbeth Lebron, “A Sad Silence,*” by Desiree Guery), to receiving notification of one’s own HIV positive status (“Date with Destiny” by Anonymous,) as well as dealing with a loved one dying from AIDS (My Uncle Died of AIDS” by Anonymous), and living a long life while HIV positive (“All Too Real: Teens Living with HIV*” by NYC Writers and “Twenty Years Living Positive” interview with Dave Nisbett.)  Back matter includes separate notes to teens and staff trainers as well as a discussion guide for teachers and staff on how to use the book effectively.  While the writing varies in style and tone, it is generally very accessible to teens who are reading proficiently and a worthwhile resource in spite of the fact that there have been some significant updates to the American conversation taking place around AIDS since many of these stories were written. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

*These two stories are available for free in full-text and with lesson plans provided by YC Teen.

Longhine, Laura (Ed.)  Why Are We Still Getting HIV? Teens Respond to the AIDS Epidemic.  New York: Youth Communication, 2010.  Print.

Amazing Baby by Desmond Morris

From their button noses to their teeny toes, babies are designed to enthrall us, and Amazing Baby is your one-stop guide to them.  This book, full of gorgeous full-color photographs, tackles every aspect of human infant development, from gestation to toddler.  With sections on “staying healthy,” “how babies learn,” and “emotional life,” Amazing Baby covers a wide range of topics thoroughly and succinctly.  Each topic is amply illustrated with photographs and full-color overlays, and broad categories are broken down into a series of 1-2 page subtopics, each further broken down into 1-2 paragraph sections, allowing the reader to skim for pertinent and interesting information.  This book proves ever-popular, especially with our female students.  When it comes time to browse for books, you can be sure there will be a group of two or three poring over the images and information in this one.

Because it covers such a broad range, the readability of the text varies quite a bit from topic to topic.  Some of the sections dealing with physiology are quite dense, while others dealing with play or common routines are very readable.  The text is well organized, with a table of contents and a comprehensive index.  However, the real appeal of this book is in the stunning images. --Regan Schwartz

It should be noted that there are two images of a nursing infant and one image of a topless, pregnant torso, which may make this volume unsuitable for some readers or environments.

Morris, Desmond.  Amazing Baby. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2008. Print.

Eat This, Not That! by David Zinczenko

This is the book you’ve been waiting for. We all know how important diet is if you’re looking to lose weight and get healthy, but trying to figure out what’s good and what’s not can be an overwhelming experience. In this appealing little book, David Zinczenko, Editor-in-Chief of Men’s Health Magazine, shows the reader how to take small but important steps towards eating better. In the chapters on supermarket foods and famous fast food restaurant chains, Zinczenko explicitly tells the reader not to eat one item, and to instead swap it for a similar, healthier substitute. He includes the reasons why -- usually the foods to avoid have high calorie counts, too many grams of fat, or they’re surprisingly high in sodium. Thankfully, the alternatives he suggests often look and sound just as appetizing, and somehow, becoming informed about what’s really lurking in the unhealthy choice can make that food much less appetizing. For instance, did you know that the innocuous Multi-grain Bagel at Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the unhealthiest options they have? Surprisingly, you’ll find fewer calories in their Ham Egg & Cheese English Muffin Sandwich.

Also informative are the notes and sidebars full of tips, and the chapters on beverages, foods to eat every day, menu decoding, and what to eat when. This book (and others in the series) was a perfect complement to last week’s ELA Media Unit focusing on analyzing food media.  --Anja Kennedy