Eating

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Two attractive, straightforward presentations. Each title is filled with good-quality, full-color photographs and drawings and accompanied by a brief, conversational text. Facts are presented simply, with concepts often described in a familiar context. Each topic is covered in a double-page spread, half to three quarters of which is comprised of an illustration, often of children demonstrating an activity or concept. "Did you know" trivia concludes each book. Terms are defined within the texts, but are not highlighted. Eating outlines the journey of food from intake to elimination. On occasion, readers must turn the book sideways to read, as the digestive path is shown across both pages. Healthy eating is discussed, along with a short section on the role of water in the body. One false note occurs when regurgitation is described as the result of eating "food with a lot of germs in it." Steve Parker's Eating a Meal (Watts, 1991) is similar in scope, but for a slightly older audiences. Senses examines and compares human senses to those of animals. The text is basic and predictable. There is nothing new here, other than the suggestion to dry the tongue, then place a sugar cube on it and time how long it takes to taste it, demonstrating the role of saliva in taste. In all, Sandeman's books are solid supplements.Denise L. Moll, Lone Pine Elementary School, West Bloomfield, MI