Look Good, Feel Good

School Library Journal

Gr 5-7Fresh, hip surveys of the wonders of the human body and how lifestyle choices effect them. Bodyworks bounces through human physiology and anatomy and emphasizes personal choices, consequences, and solutions. Look Good shows how diet, physical fitness, hygiene, attitude, and medicine contribute to overall well being, and how abuses directly effect the body and mind. These books are crammed full of basic, useful information, all of it meaty. The texts are showcased in entertaining sidebars, quizzes, and trivia balanced with brightly colored cartoons and high-quality full-color photographs. This busy format, concise treatment of major topics, and chapter headings such as "Looking Dreadful, Feeling Rotten" and "Special Deliveries" dilutes usefulness for reports. Instead, the flashy colors, double-page chapters, and clear, straightforward texts add up to neatly packaged overviews for young browsers, particularly reluctant readers. Good choices to help adolescents make the mind-body connection.Abigail Jane Goldberg, Brooklyn Public Library