ZigZag: The Bones You Own

by Becky Baines

Why does a baby have about 350 bones, but his mom just over 200? Why are my bones hidden—not like a skeleton’s? And why does Mom say milk is good for my bones?

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Picture Books, Biology

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2009

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very informative and has great photos and colorful backgrounds, but the text was hard to follow along with. The sentences were broken up on different pages and small font was interspersed with big font, and I just found it visually distracting and hard to follow.

[Radha TheLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to this book my 3 year old now has favourite bones: the ossicles!

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

very well done national geographic

well illustrated

short but to the point

lends itself well to re-reads

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼]

"The Bones You Own" comes to us from National Geographic Kids. It's a bright, colorful book with page backgrounds in a rainbow of colors, and with all sorts of interesting images presented at interesting angles. Written at the 3rd Grade level (AR is a generic "3") the book gives early elementary school aged children an idea of the function of bones and the diversity of their shapes and sizes.

There are no chapters nor table of contents but here's some of what is covered:

What bones do (protect and support)
Where they are (arms, legs, chest, head)
Joints
Breaks... and repairs
Marrow and blood production
Size (stapes versus thigh bone)
Soft versus Hard (babies to adult; cartilage to bone)

The last two pages have some great questions for kids, such as "What do you think a whale's bones look like?" And "Most bones are in your hands and feet. Can you think why?"

Overall, I think it would make a good addition to a classroom and elementary school library. Too limited though for long-term home use unless you have a large family.

Talking Points :::
o Colorful, kid-friendly book with bright pictures in a lively format.

o It's a simple introduction suitable even for the 5 to 8 crowd.

o Accelerated Reading Level: 3 (generic)

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews.com

[Peggy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first-grader received this book for Christmas and loves it. As with other books in this series, the reading level and information presented are both just perfect for him.

[Turrean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appealing layout; short, informative text; excellent photography.

[Tim Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. Keeps the information simple, which you do want in a kids book but it was not the best that I found on the subject.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

June 2017 - Ben was interested in finding a lot of the same bones on his own body, and the presentation reads more like a picture book than super-informational nonfiction. A little bit of info with bright illustrations.