You Can't Use Your Brain if You're a Jellyfish

by Fred Ehrlich

Starting with the lowly earthworm, Dr. Fred Ehrlich looks at the brains of insects, birds, mammals, and finally humans. How are human brains different from those of other animals? What can they do that we can't? What can we do that they can't? Dr. Fred Ehrlich makes the most complicated subjects understandable to young minds. In his third contribution to this popular series, he again combines a fact-packed text with humorous verse to emphasize important points. Illustrated with Amanda Haley's child-friendly drawings. Includes a glossary of difficult words.

Genres: Science, Childrens, Nonfiction

40 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2005

Reviews

[Kelli McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

You Can't Use Your Brain If You're a Jellyfish by Fred Ehrlich was a provocative read. Although, it definitely would not be a top picture book, in my opinion. I was not a huge fan of this particular story because I thought that the paragraphs on each page were extensive and there was not as much artwork as I would have liked to see. I also am not a huge science wizard either so this book did not interest me all that much. I will admit it did include a lot of interesting facts about the different animal brains in an entertaining way. Fred Ehrlich included some sections in between paragraphs of short little poems, which helped with the story's flow. Another interesting aspect of this picture-book was that it was actually more of a picture chapter book. If I were reading You Can't Use Your Brain If You're a Jellyfish as a read-a-loud to my student, I would break up the readings into it's chapters. There are six chapters so I would read it over the span of about a week. This book would make for a good read aloud for curricular reason, specifically a third or fourth grade science unit. Each chapter made a good connection with a different element of science. The introduction does a good job of summarizing the differences of animals and how their brains and cells differ. Chapter one specifically focuses on small animals and small brains. Chapter two emphasizes bigger animals and their bigger brains, chapter three primary focus is on primates such as monkeys and apes, and then finally chapter four ties in the human brain-"the biggest primate brain of all". Obviously this would be a book to read while studying animals, and it does a good job of keeping the text amusing yet factual for children, which is important so they are more likely to be more focused during the reading.

[Gemma Duling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:
I think that was a lot of words and illustrations on one page and it made it hard to focus on one thing. I did like the fact that it taught the reader about different brains and sizes, but mostly how the human brain compares to animals. It made it interesting to read about, but the way it was written and illustrated was distracting.

Purpose:
I would use this book to teach children about the human brain and the many different uses of it. It would help them learn what the brain is made up of and everything we can use it for. The comparisons in the book will make children realize how amazing the brain actually is and will make them interested in learning about it.

[Jen Traub · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really interesting premise, in my opinion. The author starts with insect brains and focuses on how they operate by instinct, then works up through larger brains in birds, cats, dogs, primates, then finally, humans. It was a nice intro, but I found myself really disappointed in the last two sections on primates and humans. There are so many possibilities here, and I felt it fell short. The primates focused on new world versus old world primates, how mommas teach their young, and the size of brains (such as gorillas vs chimpanzees). The human section introduces the idea of “mind” being created by the flesh and blood of brain, but leaves it incredibly vague. The cerebral cortex is introduced earlier, but never mentioned in regards to humans. Brains and empathy, invention, etc... none of it was there, just simply “humans have minds and can change their environment”. It even includes a small section on artificial intelligence (which seemed a stretch given how little human intelligence was explored).

I was disappointed. With so much to learn and explore, this author fell short with oversimplification and generalizations.

[Farah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waaa.. bacaan ringan untuk hari ini :D
Gue suka banget sama judulnya. You can't use your brain if you are a jellyfish.

Membuat gue berpikir, wah, berarti seharusnya kita jangan marah kalo ada yang ngatain anjing, monyet, atau hewan-hewan penghuni kebun binatang lain, dong yah? Atau kalau kita dibilang berotak udang. Justru harus sangat marah saat dibilang, "DASAR LO UBUR-UBUR!!" Jelas-jelas ubur-ubur ngga punya otak sama sekali...

Ini buku science yang sangat menarik yang pengen banget gue bacain buat anak-anak kecil.

Dari buku ini juga gue tahu, kenapa gadget-gadget yang beredar di pasaran sekarang dibilangnya Smart Phone. Bukan Intelligent Phone.
Ahseek.. Nambah pengetahuan gue :D

Jadi berdasarkan apa yang sudah gue baca di buku ini, film Resident Evil itu agak ngga masuk akal ya.
Kok bisa2nya dunia mau dikalahin sama komputer sementara manusianya dibunuhin atau dijadiin zombie? Cabut aja stop kontaknya. Mesti modyar juga itu komputer jahatnya.

Ah lanjut lagi baca buku yang satunya ah x))