Muscles: Our Muscular System

by Seymour Simon

Award-winning author Seymour Simon continues his fantastic journey through the human body, teaching young readers about the different kinds of muscles within the body, from those they control to the ones that work without their even knowing it.  This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children. Seymour Simon knows how to explain science to kids and make it fun. He was a teacher for more than twenty years, has written more than 250 books, and has won multiple awards. This book includes an author's note, glossary, and index and supports the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Seymour Simon, whom the NY Times called "the dean of [children's science:] writers," is the author of more than 250 highly acclaimed science books (many of which have been named Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children by the National Science Teachers Association).

Seymour Simon uses his website, SeymourSimon.com, to provide free downloads of a wealth of materials for educators, homeschoolers and parents to use with his books, including 4-page Teacher Guides for all 26 of his Collins/Smithsonian photo essay books. The site provides multiple resources for kids writing book reports or wanting to explore the online Science Dictionary, and also features the Seymour Science blog highlighting current science news. Educators and families are encouraged to sign up to receive the monthly newsletter from SeymourSimon.com to stay abreast of the latest materials that Seymour Simon is introducing to enrich the reading experience.

He taught science and creative writing in elementary and secondary schools and was chair of the science department at a junior high school in the New York City public school system before leaving to become a full-time writer. "I haven't really given up teaching," he says, "and I suppose I never will, not as long as I keep writing and talking to kids around the country and the world."

Seymour Simon is also a creator and the author of a series of 3D books and a series of Glow-in-the-Dark Books for Scholastic Book Clubs, a series of leveled SEEMORE READERS for Chronicle Books, and the EINSTEIN ANDERSON, SCIENCE DETECTIVE series of fiction books. His books encourage children to enjoy the world around them through learning and discovery, and by making science fun. He has introduced tens of millions of children to a staggering array of subjects; one prominent science education specialist described Simon's books as "extraordinary examples of expository prose."

Seymour Simon has been honored with many awards for his work, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award for his lasting contribution to children's science literature; the New York State Knickerbocker Award for Juvenile Literature; the Hope S. Dean Memorial Award from the Boston Public Library for his contribution to children's science literature; The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for Non-fiction; the Jeremiah Ludington Award for his outstanding contribution to children's nonfiction; the Empire State Award for excellence in literature for young people; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Forum on Children's Science Books.

In a recent interview Simon was asked if he ever thinks of retiring. "I seem to be working faster and harder than ever. I absolutely don't feel any urge to sit back and look at what I've done. The only things that I'm thinking about are things I'd like to do in the future. I'm planning and doing and continuing to write. It's what I love to do. I remember a story about an anthropologist going to talk to a tribe and he asked them what was their word for "work." Their response was they have no word for work. Everybody does the things that they do in their life. I love that response. I don't differentiate between work and play. Everything I do is something that I enjoy doing - the writing, the research and everything else."

Seymour Simon writes and photographs nature from his hilltop home in Columbia County in upstate New York, where he lives with his wife Liz Nealon.

You can follow Seymour on Facebook and on Twitter, as well as on his website, which offers free, downloadable Teacher Guides to his books for educators, parents and homeschoolers, as well as the popular Seymour Science Daily Blo

Reviews

[Mamoun Bennani]

Muscles, by Seymour Simon, is a decent book about our muscles and how to take care of them. The book states that every move a human makes is with a muscle. There are 640 muscles that are controlled such as the legs and the arms; the muscles the human does not control are the stomach muscle used for digestion. The biggest muscle is the Gluteus Maximus, also known as the butt. 40 percent of the human body is muscle and 10 percent is fat. Muscles are mostly arranged in pairs; for example, the biceps and the triceps, they both are in the arm. When biceps are stretched, triceps contract. Muscles are mostly connected to bones by narrow tissues called tendons. Muscles are made up of thin cells that are about on foot long called muscle fibers. There are 3 types of muscles, skeletal muscles, the one that we control voluntarily and they look striped under a microscope, smooth muscles, the muscles that are move unconsciously and cardiac muscles, the muscles that pump the heart and it never gets tired. To take care of those muscles, the human must exercise and stretch them after in order to avoid getting cramps. An overdose of exercise may tire a muscle and bring more painful cramps.Therefore, Muscles by Seymour Simon contains tons of surprising facts.


The topic of muscles is important. It is important because it is the reason why the human walks, run and eats. The author wrote this book to inform the reader how do humans move, how are muscles formed and how is it connected to bones. This book is nonfiction because it is about a real topic that is written by an official science author. This book could have numerous alternative titles. One title could be All About Muscles because the book talks about muscles themselves and how to take care of them by eating proteins. Examples of a protein could be, chicken, fish, beef meat and eggs. Thus, Muscles by Seymour Simon could have tons of alternative titles.


The most interesting part was the part of how to take care of the muscles. This part reminds people how important it is to take care of them because they make the body move; if they are not taken care of, painful cramps may arrive. The least interesting part was when the known information was interpreted. This part contained where are the muscles are situated. Numerous books by Seymour Simon have been read worldwide. Another science book by him would be without exception read. The book would be recommended for kids from fourth grade to seventh grade because of its overdose of information and its easy comprehension for smaller kids. Therefore, this book has a lot of information that is easily understood.

[Christina Camp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is kind of a more advanced book for kids, but is full of information. In my classroom, I will let the more advanced readers use this book when we are doing informational reading and writing. This is a great book to get facts from and learn all about the muscles in your body. The students in my second grade placement love this book.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an informative read about our amazing muscular system and would go perfectly with any text book chapters covering anatomy, or for further research/repetition of facts. The photos and illustration are clear, bold and complement the text well. Since this is a more lengthy read, educators may want to split this up into two lessons.

[Shahar Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible book from a great author that truly capture the essence of our body and how it operates. The book not just talks about the importance of muscles, it also break some myths about the muscles and shows how they look under the skin.

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the pictures that fill Simon's books. The information is sometimes too easy.

[Ice 9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book. Read my full review at http://letterstocassiandotherfolks.bl...

[R Waterfall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and easy to understand information about our amazing muscles!

[Chappyfamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great easy read to understand how muscles work. Few spots that go over your head especially for the simplified explanation. But overall pretty great for basic muscle information.

[Cwoods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book with great visuals on the muscular system to be used when learning about the human body.

[Pimnara Thanggwa]

i really interested in this book and all thing is about muscular system.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good info, easy to read and nice pictures/diagrams.