Brain Surgery for Beginners: And Other Major Operations for Minors

by Steve Parker, David West (Illustrator)

A full-color, illustrated guide to the human body and how it functions explains how humans replace and repair body parts and illuminates how the body operates, regenerates, and heals

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Childrens

62 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Steve Parker is a British science writer of children's and adult's books. He has written more than 300 titles and contributed to or edited another 150.

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, in 1952, Parker attended Strodes College, Egham and gained a BSc First Class Honours in Zoology at the University of Wales, Bangor. He worked as an exhibition scientist at the Natural History Museum, and as editor and managing editor at Dorling Kindersley Publishers, and commissioning editor at medical periodical GP, before becoming a freelance writer in the late 1980s. He is a Senior Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Parker is based in Suffolk with his family.

Parker's writing career began with 10 early titles in Dorling Kindersley's multi-award-winning Eyewitness series, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. He has since worked for more than a dozen children's book publishers and been shortlisted for, among others, the Rhone-Poulenc Science Book Prize, Times Educational Information Book of the Year, and Blue Peter Book Award.

Reviews

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of the book is about the brain, but then it delves into every other major body part (bones, muscles, etc.) and loosely ties them back into the brain.

[Lafcadio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations. Surprisingly informative.

[Gracee · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT gross out book for those kids that like stuff like that - even for those that would *like* to ask..."where do boogers come from"... but are too polite to ask.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brain Surgery for Beginners details the different parts of the brain and how they relate to the functions of our body, from feeling, thinking and sensing. Beginning with a history of our understanding of the human brain and how we used to cure headaches by putting holes in our heads (ouch!), to the first brain operation, the author writes scientific facts and delivers it with entertaining wit to keep readers interested.

Despite this book being text heavy, the author's tone is far from dry which is what I typically associate with anything science related. There are vibrant, detailed pictures throughout with descriptions that break down the different parts of the brain, as well as fun illustrations to accompany more facts. I appreciated the way the author organized the book by brain function for instance, "Main Brain" talks about what the brain looks like and how it acts as the control center, or the "Hungry Brain" which explains how the brain relates to the digestive system and gets its energy.

I gave the book 4 stars for being packed with great information and illustrated with a mix of fun and factual drawings.