Artie's Party: Featuring the Vita-Men!

by Justin Noble

Artie Heart loves working in the village of Body. But one day, he discovers that his friends, Larry and Rosey Lung, Steve Stomach and Betty Bladder, are feeling tired and worn out. Raymond suggests a band called The Vita-Men! Artie's Party, the first book in the Body Village series, will teach children about anatomy health, and the importance of taking vitamins.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Li Or · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who studied biomedical sciences in university, I was curious to see how Justin Noble would teach children complex biological mechanisms of the body through a story.

Some of the pictures made me laugh - like the picture of Steven the Stomach working on a conveyer belt where he mashes incoming food with a mallet, while nearby Lyle the Liver picks out any toxins and shoves them in the "Toxin bin".

I don't have any kids at hand to read this to and "test" this book on, though I would be very curious to see how this book goes down with young readers. I suspect that it may be a little tricky for really little kids to follow some of the concepts.

My one problem with this book was that in simplifying and using personifications of things, it can cause potential confusion.

- Potential confusion Example 1: It says that "Larry and Rosie Lung" bring oxygen into the village to give energy to their friends and get rid of the carbon dioxide that is made, but it doesn't explain where the carbon dioxide is made, why you have to get rid of it, and doesn't give any idea of what it is at all. Perhaps for children this age, explaining that the lungs shovel clean air in and shovel old air out would make more sense to children than going into the chemicals of it and leaving some things unexplained. Maybe you could use drawings of the organs snacking on "fresh air oxygen snacks" or something, and throwing away rubbish of the crumpled up snack-bags into the "old air" trash cans.

- Potential confusion Example 2: The story depicts vitamins and nutrients as a musical band that play music for all the organs to have fun, and then it looks as if the MUSIC is what makes the organs feel better. I wonder if this would confuse children rather than help them understand how vitamins really work. By disassociating the vitamins and minerals from food and associating them with something completely unrelated (music), I feel like something in the message is mis-communicated.

Another note: I felt the book tried to cover too many topics: it tried to cover what each organ did AND also explain the effect of nutrients and vitamins on the body organs. Perhaps a better way to go about it is to dedicate one book to explain what each organ does in a creative, interesting-story way, and then have separate books explaining nutrients without having little shortened segments trying to explain what each organ does too.

I really liked the artwork though.

All in all, a valient attempt to teach young children about the body in a fun way. Although the result in my opinion is a potentially-confusing educational story rather than a clear educational story or an award-winningly captivating story. It will be interesting to see how the book fares with children in practice. I look forward to reading other parents' reviews.

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I was kindly provided with a reviewer's copy of this book for honest reviewing purposes

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and fun way to help explain how the body works. The body is a village and all the organs live there and work together. Artie Heart is the main character in this story. He is busy doing his job of delivering oxygen and nutrients to all the residents of the body and he begins to notice that everyone is feeling tired. Artie visits Raymond Brain and they decide to invite the Vita-Men band to come for a visit. The band's performance perks everyone right up.

The illustrations are colorful and eye-catching. The job that each organ performs is described, not in a medically precise way, but so that young readers can understand. Raymond Brain, for example, sits in a control center with lots of switches and knobs, while Artie Heart pushes around a cart full of oxygen and nutrient packages. (We all know the heart doesn't actually travel through the body, but it does pump those necessary elements around.)

The companion website has activities, videos (including a music video by The Vita-Men), parent information and even a weekly challenge. Offering the online tie-in makes the characters more appealing to youngsters who enjoy multimedia presentations of information. And the book makes the point that vitamins are necessary for proper functioning of the body without being preachy in getting the message across.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book that explains to children how their body works. Each organ in the body is introduced and a brief easy to understand explanation of what they do is given. In the story the organs are tired and not at the top of their game. The brain brings in the Vita-Men to perform a concert and revive all the organs. The one thing I wish is that not only do they perform, but there is an explanation about how the body needs to eat certain foods to get all the vitamins it needs. There is a website that children can visit to do activities and participate in a weekly challenge. A cute and interactive addition to the story.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super fun, non-intimidating book that should do well in teaching young children about how the body works. With cool illustrations and memorable word play, it's sure to be a hit.

[Lauren White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book free from Netgalley . Very cute and informational text. Gives kids info in a cute and fun way.