Bones by Steve Jenkins

by Steve Jenkins

Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins presents a fascinating look at the bones of the human body as compared to the bones of animals, and shows them off!This book is far from skinny -- it's the definitive nonfiction title about human and animal bones, delivered with in-your-face accuracy and intrigue. In this visually driven volume, kids come face-to-face with some head-to-toe boney comparisons, many of them shown at actual size. Here you'll find the differences between a man's hand and that of a spider monkey; the great weight of an elephant's leg, paired with the feather-light femur of a stork; and rib-tickling info about snakes and sloths. How many bones are in the whole human body?

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Animals, Nature, Juvenile

Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Steve was born in 1952 in Hickory, North Carolina. His father, who would become a physics professor and astronomer (and recently his co-author on a book about the Solar System), was in the military and, later, working on science degrees at several different universities. We moved often. Steve lived in North Carolina, Panama, Virginia, Kansas, and Colorado. Wherever he lived, he kept a menagerie of lizards, turtles, spiders, and other animals, collected rocks and fossils, and blew things up in his small chemistry lab.

Because he moved often, Steve didn't have a large group of friends, and he spent a lot of time with books. His parents read to him until he could read himself, and he became an obsessive reader.

His interest in science led me to believe that I'd be a scientist himself. At the last minute, he chose instead to go to art school in North Carolina, where he studied graphic design. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked in advertising and design, first in large firms and then with his wife, Robin Page, in their own small graphic design firm. Robin, also an author and illustrator, is his frequent collaborator — they've made sixteen children's books together.

Their daughter Page was born in 1986 and our son, Alec, two years later. They began reading to them when they were just a few months old, and Steve became interested in making children's books himself. My wife and I read to our two older children almost every night until hisdaughter was 12 or 13, long after they were reading on their own. It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.

In 1994 they moved to from New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where they work in a studio attached to their house, which was built in the 1880s and often functions as if it were still the 19th century.

Their youngest son, Jamie, was born in 1998. The questions his children asked over the years have been the inspiration for many of their books.

Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bones by Steve Jenkins is a children's book about bones. Children will learn about the importance of bones, their function, and how they repair themselves.

This book isn't just about human bones. It also compares and contrasts human bones to animal bones. It's full of interesting illustrations of the bones and includes some "actual size" photos.

This is a great book for kid's to learn about skeletons, why we must have them, and how they work to support the body everyday. It's great for schools, libraries, and for home reading.

4****

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really all any book needs is Steve Jenkins’ name on the front and his great illustrations inside. Just those two things and you know it’s going to be great. In this book, Jenkins turns his attention to bones and skeletons. The size and shape of bones are explored as are skeletons of the human body and of various animals. Information is given about bones and the illustrations of the bones are laid out on very colorful pages that highlight the bones but offer some vibrancy as well. This book of bones should be in every school and public library.

Jenkin’s text here offers just enough detail to be informative but also never too much too be weighty. It offers the same bright, freshness as the illustrations themselves. His illustrations are studies in restraint as he works his paper magic using a very limited boney palette of colors. The design of the book makes it rather like an archeological discovery, since you never know what bones you will find when you turn the page. Several of the pages fold out to offer large scale illustrations, including a full human skeleton. Along the way, readers are asked questions and get to think about the body, the bones and how they function.

A virtuoso book, it is appropriate for ages 7-10.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel as though every review I leave for a Steve Jenkins book is just a copy of the whatever I read just before... but he is that consistent. This artist is brilliant at picking subjects that awe and intrigue young minds and stretch them to think in excited and curious ways. Whether is merely the illustrator or the collaborative writer and illustrator, his books grab our attention, feed our curiosity and launch conversation and further reading. Thanks to Jenkins, my not quite 4 year old is getting to think about about elementary and middle school sciences in a way that is accessible to him and fascinating.

While the technical language in this book is probably very well suited to the target audience (elementary and middle school students), it was tough for us. Nonetheless, it was an ideal introduction to the skeletal systems of things my nearly 4 year old cares about. A human hand the size of his daddy's. A human arm bone the size of his own. The rib cage of his dog in detail. Best of all, the 4 page system of ribs of a python. My son enjoyed guessing at the animals being represented by their skeletal systems and loved to pick up new vocabulary like femur, joint, skull, etc. Great springboard for conversation on what is going on under our skin.

[Alex]

I found Bones: Skeletons and How They Work by Steve Jenkins on the Goodreads nonfiction picture book list. Steve Jenkins is an award winning author and illustrator, who won a Caldecott Honor in 2014. In this book, Jenkins compares and contrasts human bones to those of animals. This informational picture book is factual nonfiction. There are many visuals in the book and many bones are depicted to scale. Some pages even include foldouts! The visuals pop against the solid color backgrounds and there is a variety of text on each page. I think this book would be appropriate to use in an upper elementary classroom during a science unit about the human body or an exploration into animal skeletons. I read this book on YouTube.

[Morgan Baumbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: This book focuses on the many bones found in animals (including humans) and their purpose. He compares and contrasts the bones of humans to that of other species.

Personal Response: This book is so very informational and clever! It is obvious that a lot of research went into creating this book! I loved the subtle hints of humor found throughout the book as well!

Description of Illustrations: The illustrations of this book were very obviously well planned. It is noted at the rear of the book that the illustrations were created with a cut paper collage technique.

Classroom connections: Students can make connections to math, as many pages include ratios! They can also use this book to connect to ELA where they can compare and contrast, like the author of this book did with the bones! Simple anatomy lessons can be enhanced by the reading of this book.

[Emma Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bones: Skeletons and How They Work is a compelling informational text. The picture book documents all the different kinds of bones that creatures, humans and otherwise, have. It shows all different kinds of bones, like skulls, ribs, and different types of joints. A lot of pictures are shown to scale and it is fascinating to see the size of some animal skeletons. This book has so much information packed into its pages and it is fun to read. This book would be great for a 3rd grader to read.

I would use this book as a parallel to read aloud to my students when we learn about the human body. It would be good as a unit introduction book. Not only does the book talk about the human skeletal system, but it also shows great comparisons to other types of skeletons in the animal world. It would be a great start to get kids invested in the topic.
This book could also be used as a resource for students when they are completing a research project. The text is nonfiction so it would be a viable book for students to choose. The back of the book also gives a lot of other interesting facts that students could use while writing a paper or making a poster, etc.

This was a WOW book for me because of all the fun I had while reading it! Many times, informational texts can be boring, but Steve Jenkins does a great job of using cool facts along with fun pictures and imagery to make learning exciting. I never knew that bones could be so interesting to learn about!

I read this book as an e-text.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this visual volume, kids come face-to-face with some head-to-toe boney comparisons between animal & human bones, many of them shown at actual size. You'll find the differences between a man's hand & that of a spider monkey; the great weight of an elephant's leg, paired with the feather-light femur of a stork; and rib-tickling info about snakes & sloths. (Goodreads Summary)

Bones by Steve Jenkins is a visual delight by this award winning illustrator.
Jenkins discusses animal & human bones in order, showing us hands, arms, feet, legs, ribs, vertebae, neck and skull. He continues on to joints, body symmetry, body adaption, and all the bones that make up a human skeleton. A Facts, Stories, History & Science section about bones concludes the book.

The book is made more intriuging by the variety of animals whose bomes are shown. You never know what may appear next. The three fold out sections show the skelton of a python, a variety of skulls, and a human skeleton. There is a lot of information but it never seems overwhelming. Jenkin's punny headings also add some fun. As usual, his cut paper collage illustrations are perfect.

Libraries will want to have this title avaiable, although a little reinforcement of the pullout pages may be in order. While some illustrations are actual size a numbe of to scale, inorder to make everything fit on the page. For ages 7 - 10, and those who love bones and Jenkin's art.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars I love Steve Jenkins' books and this one includes the same accessible, well-researched text as his other titles. Although his paper-art shows the same genius as his previous work, I found the illustrations boring. I suppose there are only so many colors and textures for bones.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bones held the kids' attention pretty well, certainly better than I expected it to. We had a lot of fun comparing the bones of the various animals presented, and we enjoyed the information presented on the several fold-out pages. Nicely illustrated, and put together in an informative way.

[Sammy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informational with very well illustrated pictures. I learned so much from this book, not just about bones but good writing techniques, too. Teachers are recommended to read this to their classes.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tool for use in the classroom as an example of literary techniques and text structures a writer can use in expository explanatory writing.

[Jordan Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational Nonfiction
Theme: bones
Grade level: 3-5
Awards:
DeBary Children's Science Book Award
Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award
Parents' Choice Award
SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science

Summary: This book goes over different animals skeletons and bones and how they work. It does a good job at comparing sizes so that you can picture how big or small the bone is. It goes from hands, to feet, to exoskeletons, to backs, skulls and then to how the bones help us move.

Personal Response: I love the illustrations and science of this book. I liked how it showed the size comparisons between our bones and other animals. It's very interesting and informational.

Other info: The theme of this book is really cool, I always loved the bones sections at museums. Especially the bones of dinosaurs. It shows a part of us and other mammals that we don't usually see and helps explain how we are built and how we move around. The illustrations for this book were made with cut paper collage. I love how everything is nicely spaced on the pages, this makes the information easy to see and understand. I also like how there are little labels everywhere telling you what animal the bones are from and what kind of bone it is.

Connections: This is a great book for science! I could do an lesson with it where we learned about how many bones are in the human body and facts about what bones are the strongest and what we use them for. I could also have the kids do an art project creating something from the book with cut paper collage.

[Carly Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informational Text
Grades 3-5
This was a beautiful book! The illustrations really did make me say WOW. It was a true WOW book for me based on how beautifully illustrated it was. This was an exceptional informational text. I have always thought bones were a neat thing to talk about, and I’ve seen it this semester in my 5th grade class, so snagging a bone book from the library was sweet! I really loved how detailed this book was with giving descriptions, comparisons, and actual size charts. The end of the book also had additional information about bones such as: what bones are made of, how they break, the biggest and smallest bones, and bone alternatives. I cant wait to use this book in a future classroom and already have a few ideas of content integration in mind. I would obviously love to use this as a way to introduce bones into the classroom. Bones are an important thing to us as humans, and it really does a good job at explaining what they are and what they do. It would be a great science integration book as a way to add to the literature that students are being exposed to. I could also see using this during a math lesson as a way to discuss fractions. Some of the pictures are drawn to scale, and it would be fun to figure actual size of some of the images as a way to incorporate math. An all around great book, I loved it!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides excellent knowledge on the skeleton inside our bodies and inside the bodies of animals. It shows the bones in their actual size and compares them to bones of other animals. A barn owl's skull is smaller than a horse's thigh bone, which is clear in the pictures in this book. This book doesn't have just pictures of skeletons though, it has explanations of skeletons and details out how these bones work. It questions the reader on where the pictured bone would go, and considering most people don't know what bones look like let alone which one it is, finding the answer provides excitement.

This children's book has great images. The bones seem realistic despite being made with collages of cut pieces of paper so they probably aren't 100% perfect. The images truly help the readers visualize what bones look like though. With the solid color background, it makes the images the focal point and puts all of the focus on them. All of the graphs and boxes of information are eye catching as well, kind of forcing the reader to read it all in order to understand what they are looking at. This information is really useful and interesting to have as a reader grows older as they'll be able to identify different types of skeletons.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a Children's literature class. This book was written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins, a Caldecott Award winner for illustration. I appreciated the illustrations used for this book, as an artist myself and someone who is also curious about science I liked that his art work was not cartoonish, realistic yet still was made appealing to young readers (or viewers for the children whose parents read to them.) While the bones are primary rendered in a single color, the backgrounds of each page are vivid solid colors that varied from page to page, in which the bones stood out in contrast. The way the book was written was made interesting for young readers too, in that many of the pages provided contrast such as biggest and smallest things, and separate sections such as arms, legs and spines making it easier to compare different creatures. I also liked the two pages on the human skeleton in which one page showed the pages all laid out neatly in rows and then the next page shows the bones all connected. This is a basis science overview though in that for example, each bone of the human body is not labeled. It is more just an informational book on how humans and animals are put together and what makes our bodies work that a full on study of the skeleton.

[Renea Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Bones: Skeletons and How They Work” is a great informational book about bones, and how they work. The author, Steve Jenkins dives into the intriguing topic of bones, and the purpose they serve to humans and animals. It is an interesting book that will have you being thankful for your strong and healthy bones!

Children will read the title of this book and immediately gain interest for this hot topic of bones, because it did it for me! I really liked how the author included detailed pictures of human and animal bones on each page. There was also descriptions included for each picture, which was very helpful as well. The author made sure to include informational language that kids can learn as they read, which was a good literary element. Another one that I noticed was ho rich the text was in detail. There was a perfect amount of information that young readers could build off of.

I really enjoyed this informational text selection because of the descriptions the author provided on each page. It was a simple read, but also a read that you could gain knowledge off of, and those are the best books to read!

[Maggie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Jenkins portrays bones throughout the book and does an excellent job defining what bones are and how they function. He shows bones of animals and humans and compares their different bones as they function differently. He incorporates statistics to of numbers of bones in a human hand and how the forearm works in animals verses humans. When we look further in the book, we notice that the author portrays the human bones and many animals bones in the same place. The reader can find that bones on other animals generally have the same set up of bones as a human. I lover how the pages's backgrounds are different colors, but they are solid and do not take away the attention of the important text and images. The author has labeled the animals skeletons of the animal the skeleton is shown. By providing the animals' names, it will give the reader a good idea of what the animal is. I love how the end of the book as all the human skeletal system and how they all connect. As an activity, I would have the students exploring skeleton bones in our class. They will be assessed by naming the bones.

[Elizabeth Banville · Rating 4 out of 5]

1) Caldecott Honor
2) First Grade
3) This book gives information on different types of bones. There are facts about bones. This book answers the questions that many children can have about bones, like what happens when your bone breaks.
4) This book is great because it teaches children a lot of interesting facts about bones. Children can learn about the bones of different animals. Both adults and children can learn facts from this book.
5) a) As a class, they can label a skeleton using what they learned and using new information.
b) As a class they can group facts they learned into things about humans and things about animals.

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Jenkins is a phenomenal nonfiction picture book author. His topics are equally fascinating for children and adults, his illustrations are beautiful and incredibly accurate, and his text is rich in detail. In this book he describes the functions, formation and anatomical details of bones in both humans and animals. Some are shown in actual size; all bones depicted state the scale used to draw them. Several of the pages fold out to show you, for example, a full human skeleton and all the ribs on a python. A thorough and intriguing treatment of the topic.

[Annika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was interesting. At first I though it was too complex for children, given all the information thrown out, but then I realized they executed it in a good way. By using a vast amount of color, and images the illustrator creates a fun, interesting book for children. Learning about bones isn't very fun, but if I was a kid, a book like this would definitely the way to keep me interested in the topic.

[Allison Hiatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bones: Skeletons and How They Work is great book read and understand about the bones in our bodies along with bones in other animals as well. You can learn a lot by reading this. The pictures inside this book are amazing and bring the book alive. The pictures are so good and long with that, you get to learn about bones while enjoying the pictures. This a great book for kids who want to learn about about the bones in the body and it's simple for them to read and to understand.

[Anita Augustyniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

What really stood out to me in this book was the illustrations. The illustrations are very attention catching and interesting. I would recommend this book because it can teach children a lot about bones and still entertain them at the same time. I think this is an important book to read because I don’t think children know much about bones and how their skeletons look like so they can learn a lot from it.

[emyrose8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Bones are awesome, and so is this book. The cutout paper collage style of artwork makes you think this book will be plain and simple too, but a TON of work went into making this book. The bones shown always have a scale reference at the bottom of the page so readers know if they are life-sized or scaled down/up. There's just the right amount of text on the page, chunked up and easy to read. The back of the book has more facts for those interested, and that section is a little wordier.

[Charles Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun look at the different bones both in your body and in the bodies of different animals

A very fun and informative book, Jenkins is able to teach the reader quite a bit about skeletons, from how they work to what they do and how many there are. With his own style of collage, Jenkins is able to bring these inanimate skeletons to life in his own way

Highly recommend this book for any science teacher, or just anyone who find skeletons interesting

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awards the book has received:n/a
Appropriate grade level: 3-6
Original summary: This book is about different bones of the human body as compared to the bones of animals.
Original review: This is great informational, nonfiction book where young readers can learn about their bodies and how they work
1-2 possible in-class uses: Human body, Bones, compare and contrast

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such an enjoyable read! I loved how the illustrator used different shadowing techniques and solid page colors to really bring out the beauty of the bones! I'd recommend this book to any child 4 years old and up, when those young minds are teaming with knowledge-thirsty cells! It's a great read for adults as well, body structures among all creatures are fascinating!

[Noel Al-Mansoori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read in how there was so much to talk about bones. I, myself, am a huge anatomy and physiology geek so this was captivating to me. It has funny jokes about bones and illustrations that depict normal instances but just in the view of skeletons. So fun for any kid that likes bones or animals.

[Ariel Morin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, Engaging, Science

Steve Jenkins's book "Bones" examines a range of animal bones. Readers are introduced to a variety of animals and their individual structures in this book through straightforward text and complex artwork. Jenkins gives incredible details about various creatures' purposes of bones, ranging from hummingbirds' to dinosaurs. Readers will be captivated by the detailed drawings that vividly represent the topic.

This book qualifies as a picturebook as readers can examine the vivid and elaborate pictures of animal skeletons. The connection between words and illustrations is achieved by integrating the text into the pictures. Readers can better understand the ideas being given in the text thanks to this visual storytelling. The pictures have bright, eye catching details, which gives the book a stimulating and engaging appeal for young readers. 

[Tanay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It has a lot of information in it. lots of color, despite the lack thereof in bones, but very explanatory. I think children might struggle with terminology a bit but most of it can be picked up through context clues and such. this is a great book.

[Aaya Omran · Rating 5 out of 5]

i liked the simple style that being used to introduce the differences and similarities with the human bones and animal. its good for some elementary ages to learn about bones between the animal and human and how large and small.