What's Eating You? by Nicola Davies and Neal Layton
| What's Eating You? by Nicola Davies and Neal Layton | |
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| Category: Children's Non-Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A fantastic introduction to parasites. It's gross, fascinating, itch-inducing and edifying. The illustrations marry perfectly with the text to make it a highly recommended read. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 64 | Date: June 2009 |
| Publisher: Walker Books | |
| ISBN: 978-1406313543 | |
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Did you know that there are more than 430 types of parasites that can live on humans? Are you scratching? Good! Now you know what it was like for me reading What's Eating You? It's a fantastically detailed introduction to parasites - on humans and other animals - that any science-loving child will love.
It's all here, from huge tapeworms to deadly plasmodium, from mind-controlling Sacculina to the tongue-eating Cymothoa. It's gross, fascinating, itch-inducing and edifying in equal measure. I was hooked (thankfully not by hookworms) from first page to last. As packed with educational detail as it is, it's never boring, preachy or stuffy. It's a perfect slice of non-fiction for children.
Neal Layton's illustrations are wonderful. They're fun and cartoony, with amusing speech bubbles that serve to both draw the reader in more, as well as increase the understanding of just how the parasites work, if the (perfectly clear) explanations were misread. The words and pictures are in absolute harmony, and go together to create a perfect whole that can't be faulted in any way.
You don't need to be a non-fiction addict to lap up What's Eating You?, nor do gross things need to necessarily be your cup of tea. Despite the subject matter, it's so well done that any confident reader will enjoy it and learn from it.
My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
Nicola Davies was also in top form with White Owl, Barn Owl, which blended fiction and non-fiction together. Children who love gross things will love any of the choices (including a couple of non-fiction books) from Bookbag's Top Ten Books For Children Who Think That Farts Are Funny.
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You can read more book reviews or buy What's Eating You? by Nicola Davies and Neal Layton at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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