The Human Cycle

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Birth, growth, and death are the subject of this introductory volume. Beginning with conception, the book traces the cycle of life in a simple, direct manner. The writing is smooth and informative without becoming bogged down in detail, but presumes that readers have a fair amount of prior knowledge on the subject. The term ``sexual intercourse'' is used but never really defined, other than to say that ``sperm cells leave the male penis and enter the female vagina.'' Reference to ``periods'' is also made, with menstruation then detailed, but no explanation is included as to why they are called ``periods.'' Growth and puberty are outlined, with simple changes such as a shoe size and body shape used as growth indicators. Death is explained as the wearing out of the body, plus the result of accidents or disease. Good-quality, full-color photos of people of various races and ethnicities or basic diagrams comprise at least half of each page; they are captioned and usually complement the text. This title does bring together information for this age group not so conveniently packaged elsewhere, and thus would be a serviceable addition to collections, but it is not a must-have item.-Denise L. Moll, Lone Pine Elementary School, West Bloomfield, MI