Body Battles

by Rita Golden Gelman, Elroy Freem (Illustrator)

Explains how viruses and bacteria can make people sick, shows how the body keeps them out, and suggests ways to help your body avoid illness

Genres: Science, Childrens, Nonfiction, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kazia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked how the "defensive body weapons" were listed in order of defense (i.e., skin, mucus/earwax, stomach acid, and immune system). I think this is a good way to teach children about the body's defense system. The last few pages were a little meh for me. Medicines are drugs are chemicals. I understand that for this book, the drugs being referred to are those which are colloquially referred to as drugs. Perhaps it's because I'm reading this as an adult, but the attempt to divide medicine from "drugs" is... uncomfortable (e.g., if misused "medicines" can "mess up your body, too"). Also, that note about AIDS not being passed to another person by touch is telling of the time of when this book was written. The illustrations were decent (I liked the colouring style best). Skin's many colours was... hm.

[Arielle Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Rita Golden Gelman introduces children to our bodies natural defenses. The book uses respectful words to explain different infections to children. It is a very age appropriate book for children beginning to learn about the body. There is no characters and plot other than the different body "weapons" being explained in a way that children can understand. The illustrations created by Elroy Freem do a great job bringing the picture to life. I gave the book 4 stars because I believe there could have been a plot incorporated.

[Solana.K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a very helpful book. It taught me a lot of things about my body and others bodies. I learned that all bodies are different but pretty much all of us have the same cells, we have red and white blood cells. A lot of the book was also about what germs were good and what germs were bad. I don't read non-fiction a lot but this book was actually really helpful. I recommend this to 4th grade and up because it has some confusing words and phrases.

[Liv Feisel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poetic form of the book is captivating! I was expecting an informational book to be formatted in prose, and was pleasantly surprised to see how this book was written. I think the poetic format will hold student interest. Another aspect that would hold student interest is the art that supplements the information; the personification of the different cells and bodily functions is fun and creative!

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good lessons for kid’s learning about their bodies with fun illustrations to make it more memorable. There were a few times I got a bit annoyed at the over use of adjectives but kids would probably enjoy that part.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made the body defenses easy to understand and even put in a good message about drugs and poison, This was a good read for any age but 5-9 especially

[Mrs. Ruigrok · Rating 3 out of 5]

a simple story book to introduce children to our defense systems. Includes discussions on such things as earwax, mucus, stomach acid etc. An older but simple book.

[Anonymous · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do not get this for a seven year old. This goes overboard with the "no drugs" idea. I'm sorry, but what seven, eight, nine year old is going to be even thinking about drugs. While informing a small child that their body can fight off germs because of ear-wax and boogers, it ends with telling them that drugs are bad for you (which, yes they are) but I'm quoting the book here:
"Poisons and drugs can stop your breathing,
mess up your thinking
and destroy some very important cells. Poisons and drugs can kill you."

Talk about scaring a kid who needs to take cold medicine!

Then, it goes onto tell kids that everyday house-hold cleaners can make you sick.

What is this book??

Enforce these ideas on kids older!

[Jasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at a teacher's garage sale and thought it looked interesting. The illustrations are fun and the writing is poetic. This non-fiction science book would be good to have in the classroom library for 2nd or 3rd grade. It introduces some advanced vocabulary so I would also use it as a read aloud to introduce health or science lessons. It is contains factual information about how the body deals with harmful substances and disease. The "say no to drugs" message is a little bit outdated in its delivery but the rest of the book makes up for that.

[Sarah Kasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Body Battles" is a great book for 2nd-5th grade. It's pretty wordy, so some 1st graders would have trouble reading it independently. This book would be a great addition to your science library. Not only does it talk about the body, it also talks about the importance of not putting bad things in it! Say No to Drugs Day would be a great time to bring this book out and have your students ask questions about their bodies!

[Jeff Chu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I remember reading as a child. It woke my interest in science and health, especially in the immune system and helped drive me into wanting a career in healthcare.

Highly recommended for any child who enjoys learning and seeing how awesome their body is!

[T Crockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and contains really funny rhymes. There's a real gross-out factor in some of them that the kids love