My Body, Your Body

WONDERWISE

by Mick Manning, Brita Granstrom

Compares and contrasts various parts of the human anatomy with those of animals and concludes that all bodies are different and special

Genres: Animals

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Manning went to school in Keighley and then studied at at Bradford College. He studied illustration and graphic design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now the University of Northumbria) 1979 - 82 and then illustration and animation at the Royal College of Art London 1984-87 . Later he devised and ran the BA honours Illustration option at the Glasgow School of Art while maintaining a freelance career. In 1998 he resigned to concentrate on writing and illustrating children's books full-time. British artist-illustrators Xavier Pick, Helen Stephens and Mark Hearld number among his ex-students. Manning's first book A Ruined House was chosen by Quentin Blake in The Laureate's Party (Red Fox) as one of his personal top 50 children's books of all time. Manning is known for his collaborations as author and co-illustrator with partner Brita Granström. Books from their young non-fiction series "Wonderwise" won the TES, Silver Smarties and English Association Awards and were also shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prizes (then called The Rhone Poulenc) on three occasions. They won The English Association award again in 2005 with Voices of the Rainforest and again in 2008 with Greek Hero. Their book Yuck! is referenced in the Mike Leigh film Happy Go Lucky. Tail End Charlie, a picture book about his father's Second World War experience as an RAF air gunner during 1944 was shortlisted for, and televised on, the Blue Peter Book Awards 2010. It was also shortlisted for the ALCS Award and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2010. Manning is a direct descendant of 18th Century Italian artist Bonifacio Musso, and Musso's London-born son Charles Muss who was himself, among many other things, a British illustrator. In 2011 Mick and Brita won a fourth English Association Award with the follow up to Tail-End Charlie; Taff in the WAAF a fascinating book about his mother's war including her experiences as a Chicksands 'Y' station listener for Bletchley Park. In 2011 he was elected a Fellow of The English Association.

Manning's other children's non fiction picture books include science titles such as: How Did I Begin? (this book looks at the amazing development of a human baby from fertilised egg to birth and was shortlisted for the Rhone Poulenc Prize in 1996) Woolly Mammoth (with the NHM, London), Dino Dinners (with the NHM, London), Nature Adventures and 'What Mr Darwin Saw, (this book about the life of Charles Darwin and his discoveries was shortlisted for the Royal Society's science book prize in 2011.)

Reviews

[Mahera · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘My Body Your Body’ by Mick Manning and Brita Granstorm is a book which looks at the human body as well as the body of many different animals. This is a very good book for children, as it gives children an insight into the different senses/body parts of humans and animals, what the function of each body part is, also highlighting the differences and similarities.
Each page includes appealing pictures of the different body parts. A brief explanation of the purpose of that anatomical part follows, e.g., "a tough head-to-toe covering to protect you from the heat, dirt, and dust." The opposite page has drawings of two or more animals with one or two facts relating to the body part for each one, such as "A male chameleon can change its skin colour when he feels angry or falls in love." The lively watercolour illustrations are an essential part of the book. The artists have given the animals a certain charm; the human skeleton even has a smile. The "Helpful Words" section has only eight words in it, and two of them are repeated, word for word.
I think this book is aimed at KS1 and KS2 children. This book was particularly appealing because of its detailed pictures and the subject (body parts). Through this book children are able to learn the different parts of the human body and its functions, not only that, but they also learn about the similarities and differences about the function of each body part compared to animals. The book allows children to understand the difference between animals and humans, as well as the need to have different body parts and different senses.
This book can be utilised for curriculum support, for example: science, they can identify the different parts of the body of humans as well as animals, they can look at the similarities and differences between the human body with animal bodies. It can also be used for art, where children can draw the different parts of the bodies. A further subject would be ICT, where children can do further research into the body parts of other animals.

[Jasmine Caines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manning, M. and Granstrom, B. (2008) My Body Book, Franklin Watts, London

My Body Book gives a short but detailed account of the body’s different systems and functions. Starting with the Brain and nervous system, the book details how the brain is ‘the boss’ of the body and commands its actions. The book proceeds to explore the body senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell, giving examples of how these senses work and how they might be applicable in everyday life situations. The book also discusses the skeletal, muscular and digestive systems of the body, describing their functions and why it is important to look after your body, such as brushing your teeth.

My Body Book could be used to support children’s reading in a number of ways. It is a very colourful book with repetitive words, phrases and explanations that are supported by complementary images of the text. This allows the child to gain some visual representation and further contextualise the information. The book also progresses from the basic sounds and phonemes that lower stage children learn, onto a further developed style of reading with more difficult words to pronounce and understand. However, the supporting images support and encourage the reader to develop their standard of reading. My Body Book is also versatile in the curriculum as it is heavily based in the subject of science. The book teaches the children about the systems and functions of the body and how each of the bodily functions operates in everyday life. This book would be effective in KS2 Science.

[Tim Roast · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7-year-old daughter likes learning facts. About this book she said, "I like it. It has interesting facts, like about the eagle's eyes, and that houseflies can smell food from another street."

But this book doesn't have that many facts in my opinion being quite short, and even those that are in the book aren't necessarily things you didn't already know ("cheetahs are the fastest land animals on Earth"). However the one-liner style snippets together with a picture of the corresponding animal probably suit new readers such as 7-year-olds because of the colour and the bite-size nature.

The facts are grouped into categories based on human aspects like our senses, parts of our bodies... I don't think my 7-year-old really picked up on that, although there are some games suggested on the inside covers to bring out these elements more.

All in all a quick ride but one that she enjoyed.