The Busy Body Book: A Kid's Guide to Fitness

by Lizzy Rockwell

A celebration of the amazing human machine and a life on the move!

Your amazing body can jump, sprint, twist, and twirl. Your body is built to move.

Lizzy Rockwell explains how your bones and muscles, heart and lungs, nerves and brain all work together to keep you on the go. Kids walk and skate and tumble through these pages with such exuberance that even sprouting couch potatoes will want to get up and bounce around—and that’s the ultimate goal. Studies show that American kids are becoming more sedentary and more overweight and that they carry these tendencies with them into adolescence and adulthood. Experts agree that we need to help kids make physical activity a life-long habit. Through education, information, and encouragement, this book aims to inspire a new generation of busy bodies!

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Health, Science, Childrens, Bodies, LGBT

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 9, 2004

About the author

Lizzy Rockwell is an illustrator whose artwork can be seen in picture books, magazines, games and on walls. She studied art and art history at Connecticut College, and drawing and illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Lizzy is the illustrator of over 25 children's books by a variety of authors including her mother, Anne Rockwell. She is the author/illustrator of eleven books including The All-Together Quilt, Plants Feed Me, How Do You Feel?, Good Enough to Eat: A Kid's Guide to Food and Nutrition, and The Busy Body Book: A Kid's Guide to Fitness.

Lizzy has two grown sons, and lives and works in Bridgeport, CT with her husband, Ken Alcorn, a high school social studies teacher. Lizzy likes to quilt, cook, hike, paddle, and grow things in her garden.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative but also colorful and engaging for kids. I wish there would have been some disability representation in the images, but otherwise, this is a good book on how kids can be healthy and active.

[Jatoria Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. Although it is a little lengthy it contains a lot of valid information that children should know about their bodies and how the different systems work. Instead of just discussing different types of physical activities like most books, it uses cartoon characters and charts to grasp the readers attention and discuss the importance of being active. Even though this story doesn't have a typical plot or problem/resolution storyline the information flows together. The illustrations are my favorite part because each child is depicted very differently and the words match the pictures that are on the page. However a child wouldn't be exposed to multiple perspectives because their aren't any characters present which doesn't allow for cultures to be represented. Despite the little things, this is definitely a book that I would include in my classroom library because their are a variety of students represented.

[Emily Renfrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a very good book for kids to become more familiar with exercise. This book shows fun ways you can move your body and it always informs the reader on body parts and how we are able to move. It shows simple anatomy of the body which I think it awesome for kids to be familiar with in an easy way. It explains what each system of the body does. It not only is about moving, but about healthy good foods to eat. This book is packed with awesome information, and fun illustrations. This encourages kids to be more healthy overall by simplifying these things and making them entertaining for kids.

[Jessica Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grades- K-2
Genre: Informational Literature

The Busy Body book is very informational and is a fun way for kids to read about how our body works to keep us healthy especially during exercise. I like that Lizzy Rockwell talks about how our bodies are capable of running, jumping, etc. and we must continue to keep our bodies active. I would highly recommend this book to the younger readers so they can begin to read about physical activity, increase their knowledge and understanding about exercise, and learn parts of the body.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book because it showed the skeleton, muscles, brain, lungs, digestive system, in a way that I knew I could explain to my toddlers. The text of this book is more geared toward keeping a body active, but I used it for a different purpose and it still worked great.

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

ATA Wonder Kit -- Active, fitness, You,

Juv Nonfiction 612 Roc

Note: Intertwines story with facts.

A celebration of the amazing human machine and a life on the move!

Your amazing body can jump, sprint, twist, and twirl. Your body is built to move.

Lizzy Rockwell explains how your bones and muscles, heart and lungs, nerves and brain all work together to keep you on the go. Kids walk and skate and tumble through these pages with such exuberance that even sprouting couch potatoes will want to get up and bounce around--and that's the ultimate goal. Studies show that American kids are becoming more sedentary and more overweight and that they carry these tendencies with them into adolescence and adulthood. Experts agree that we need to help kids make physical activity a life-long habit. Through education, information, and encouragement, this book aims to inspire a new generation of busy bodies!


Subject: Human body -- Juvenile literature
Exercise -- Juvenile literature

[Grace Bolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Busy Body Book' would be appropriate to read with kindergarten through 4th grade students. The book has a picture book format with narrative pages and illustrations about what our bodies are capable of and labeled diagrams of the different parts of our bodies and what they do. The book tells about what foods nourish our bodies and what exercises we should do to stay healthy. This would be a great book to read with students as a read aloud and then it should be revisited to analyze each of the diagrams in detail. This book could be used to introduce a unit on health or the human body. Older students could study each of the diagrams and do a report and more investigating on which part of the body they are most interested in, the skeletal system or the lungs. The book ends with the question, "Which is your favorite [activity]?" This question could be used as a writing and drawing prompt for younger students.

[Shaylie Dobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about telling students that it is normal for a body to want to be busy. It also addresses the idea of what one can do to help their body stay healthy. The whole book walks through each body system and what it does. I think this would be a good read aloud at the beginning of the Human Body System unit. I think you should just show the diagrams and not read them all the way. Once the students have heard the "story" they can have worksheet that makes them look back at each diagram during centers.

[Makenzie Soeken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introductory book for learning the different body systems. Kids can learn the basics of many body systems including skeletal, muscular, nervous, and respiratory. Not only does the author explain the functions of these systems, she also includes basic diagrams to give readers a visual to aid in their learning. As a health teacher, I would use this book to introduce body systems to students of all ages.

[Ms. Arca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 it was a little funky but also cool combo of simple rhyming lines about bodies as well as diagrams about bones, muscles, our nervous system etc.. that being said, i think I’m okay with this combo and that it mostly worked. I love when a text weaves kid friendly information into it. I think this is a good intro for kids about some aspects of how their bodies work and also validating them for all the ways they crave to move !

[Nisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaching about the human body, is normally intimidating because of the wealth of information available. This book condenses it into easily managed chunks for preschoolers. Starting with the skeletal system, then muscular system and so on. Each topic covered had beautiful graphics, without going into too much detail - which helps as a parent to know where to stop when it comes to explaining body systems.

[Zariah Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! It is written to inform children about how important it is to exercise and move the body. This book has a lot of colorful pictures that explains the muscles, bones, the skeleton, brains and nerves, the lungs, the heart and blood vessels, and lastly; the stomach and intestines. As I mentioned it is very informational for children and is over all a good book to use to teach with.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 Year old approved, but he got bored near the last couple pages. A great introduction to the body and what happens when we're active. The diagrams are great, showing the skeleton, veins, etc. We'll probably read it again at least once.

[Caitlin Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

review: This book talks about what all our boys can do, which is twisting and jumping. It also talks about eating healthy and keeping a healthy body.
use: Teaching children about their body and that being is healthy is important.

[Lannette Boateng · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book; it is my favorite book out of the ones that I read. This book has the most incredible graphics, fascinating facts and tells you how you should take care of your body. I even learned a few things I did not know that your teeth are the only part of your skeleton that you can see.

[Hannah Dull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: informational
Grade level: 1

This was a great book! It was fun and entertaining and could keep a reader engaged. While this is happening, it incorporates a ton of valuable information about the body!! The illustrations were also very good! This was a great book!

[Emily Nofziger]

A great book for promoting health and fitness to kids! The book explains aspects of health and the body very smoothly and is easy to understand, even including detailed graphs. A very good book I plan to read to my future students during fitness week.

[Carla H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this book for the Opening of our StoryPath at the library. It worked well for our theme, and both the children and adults who attended the opening said they learned something new! Our mayor read the book and interacted with the children. Both the book and the StoryPath were a hit!!!

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers most of the major systems of the body with diagrams and short intros. It had nice illustrations and the text was easy to read, but the diagrams were a bit higher level.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for our January Fitness Story Hour! The kids got up and moved with it and asked questions afterwards about the book

[Rachel Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story talks about all of the active things children can do; like jump, run and play! It is important for kids to be moving. This would be a great addition to any classroom, published in 2004.

[DiAnne Warfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holt-Delhi PJ story time 1-26-2022

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book full of interesting and useful information about the body and why exercise and healthy eating is important. Typical Lizzy Rockwell diverse illustrations.

[Zoey Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good info.

[Dorothea Holcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for teaching young children about the importance of exercise and how fun it can be, especially at their age. If only it could still be that easy to stay in shape. Sigh….

[Mary Ledom · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Busy Body Book: A Kid's guide to Fitness is an incredible book that can be used in many different ways. Not only does it teach a child about different parts of their body, it also reminds them that a healthy body is a good and happy body. It is so informative for students and it will keep students on their feet. I smiled and laughed reading this which makes me well aware that students from kindergarten to third grade will obviously love this book!
The most important part about this book is that it introduces complex information in a casual and simple way. Students will be focusing on the simple information and will never realize how much this book has taught them. Not only will students love this book but parents will be delighted that their students are learning information about their body in such an early grade level. Although it is complex about the body, it breaks the body down in an age appropriate way that will keep students wanting to learn and love learning.
Along with the illustrations, they show children from diverse backgrounds. This will make every student feel comfortable and loved. I think this is such an awesome book to share with the class aloud. Students will ask questions and stay involved the entire time through the happiness this book brings. This is a MUST read in any classroom in a younger elementary grade. Students will understand this book and will be ready for the next grade level and learning about the body and the digestive system. I am so grateful I saw this book on Amazon because I just ordered it.
I loved loved loved this book and I know my future students will as well. I am so excited to see their faces of excitement about learning when I open this book.

[Jaylyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: This book is super fun & really helps clarify difficult topics like how the body all works together. It would be a great book for kids in 2nd or 3rd grade with helping them understanding all the different things our body does.

Reading in a group: This book could be a good book when talking about maturation as well as how the body works. This could be read out loud or a student could come to the front and read a page or two to the class and then come up with questions of their own to ask the teacher or the class.

Reading individually: This book could also be a great book for a student to read on their own to learn more about themselves while reading the book. Sometimes books that have to do with ourselves are better read by their self so they can process it on their own.

Literary Analysis: This book contains great vocabulary that will really open students vocabulary language skills. It uses all different terminology and explains what each of the words means. The definitions are very clear and they clarify the tricky words that students might struggle with.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is jam-packed with information. The point of the book is to encourage children to get active, but also has whole pages of body diagrams with anatomy information and intense vocabulary like bronchi, arteries, bloodstream, etc. I think the book tries to do too much and am not sure what age group would most benefit from this book. The information is more appropriate for upper elementary students, but the pictures are simple cartoons that show younger children.

The back of the book has a note to parents and teachers encouraging them to help students get active. There are also two pages of tips on how to stretch, strengthen, breathe deeply, do aerobics, and other moderate activities.

The best part of the book is a two-page spread of 40 small squares all showing kids doing different activities.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read book on the topic of health and fitness for kids. Text introduces kids to the different systems of the body (skeletal, muscular, brain and nerves, lungs, heart and blood, stomach and intestines). Illustrations feature racially diverse kids engaging in all sorts of physical activity and suggested activities can be found in the back matter.

What I like about this book is that it teaches in a fun way and encourages activity rather than focusing on discouraging bad behaviors. Nothing is specifically outlawed, rather there's room for all in moderation (i.e TV/movies/video games balanced with running and fruits and veggies as snacks).

Text is simple enough to be read aloud, though I imagine the suggested activities will be the chief reason for seeking out this book. PreK-2.