Gross Universe: Your Guide to All Disgusting Things Under the Sun

Szpirglas, J. (2004). Gross Universe: Your guide to all disgusting things under the sun. Toronto, Ontario: Maple Tree Press, Inc.

Plot Description:
This book is about many of the functions of the human body. The book contains features such as a black square on a page as a "Dandruff Launching Pad" to inspect one's own flakes. Through the explanations of substances, such as mucus and urine, the author compares them to those created by other animals and insects. For example, just as humans produce sweat from our skin glands, the hippopotamus' skin glands also produces a substance, but it is red and sticky and protects the animal from the sun. The book covers topics such as the types of substances and gasses produced by humans as their uses and quantities.

Review:
This book manages a funny and informative way of educating young people on many physiological functions of the human body. It was nauseating to read at times due to lots of facts about mites and bacteria living in our bodies or on the pages of the library book itself. The facts accompanying each topic are fascinating and put into terms that children would be able to understand. For example, most humans pee about one and a half liters a day, the author then explains that that is the equivalent of one and a half large soda bottles. The illustrations are also entertaining and make the subjects a little more palatable rather than showing photographs.

Genre:
nonfiction

Reading Level:
Ages 8 - 12

Similar Books:

Subjects/Themes:
physiology

Annotation:
A interesting beginner's guide into human physiology. The book ties human body functions to other animals and insects and provides simple explanations for each.