INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

 The Heart: Our Circulatory System

written by Seymour Simon

Scholastic, Inc.  

New York, NY

1996

 

SUMMARY

Seymour Simon begins this book by telling readers the size of their hearts (about the size of their fists).  As the story continues, Simon explains what the heart does and how it works.  He also describes for readers some of the things that can go wrong with the heart.  The photos are intriguing, computer enhanced, and sure to catch a reader’s attention.  Simon has also included colored drawing and diagrams that help explain the functions of the heart.  Readers will gain an understanding of the heart and its importance.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Scientific American reviewed The Heart, calling it a “useful book.”  Dr. Raymond Matta, M.D., a cardiologist in New York, read the complete manuscript for accuracy.  A scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows pictures with details not seen with the naked eye.  Other illustrations are detailed and accurate, helping the reader understand the text more completely.  Seymour Simon is a former Science teacher who has written nearly 300 nonfiction books, winning many awards for his writing.  Simon uses terminology readers will understand without feeling like they are being talked down to.  Missing from this book are a bibliography, table of contents, index, and glossary.  This book is written for the middle elementary level reader, who would find these features helpful when looking for information.

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Scientific American - In The Heart Simon presents as clear and thorough a look at the human circulatory system as he has at so many other subjects. With the aid of computer-enhanced photographs taken with an electron microscope, Simon explains the system of blood vessels, the role of blood, lungs, and the heart, and a few of the problems which can develop in the circulatory system. At times he uses familiar references to make a point, explaining, for example, that the heart weighs only "about ten ounces, about as much as one of your sneakers." The text, layout, diagrams, and photographs work together to make an eye-catching and useful book.

School Library Journal - Simon approaches the human heart as he approached outer space and oceans: as an adventure to be explored. As always, the full-page, full-color photographs are spectacular, and the text is crisp and full of detail. In a conversational yet instructive style, the author presents young readers with fascinating information that will almost certainly spur them on to read more. Topics include types of blood vessels, coronary bypass surgery, strokes, and anatomy of the heart. There is no index, but since each two-page spread clearly addresses a specific topic, one isn't necessary.

Kirkus Reviews - "Make a fist. This is about the size of your heart," Simon (Spring in America, p. 232, etc.) begins, and with this simple, concrete image he introduces the wonders of the human heart, circulatory system, and blood to a picture-book audience. Elsewhere, even abstract ideas become comprehensible, e.g., the average human body contains about twenty-five trillion red blood cells, or "hundreds of times more blood cells than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy." Stunning full-color photos appear on every page, many taken inside the human body with scanners, X rays, and other devices, and then computer-enhanced. The same science savvy and enthusiasm that has made Simon's titles on the universe so popular has been turned inward to uncover extraordinary facts about the human body.

 

CONNECTIONS

After reading The Heart, students could create PowerPoint slides to share the information from the book.

Students could create posters to share information about how the heart works.

 

AWARDS

Seymour Simon received the Lifetime Achievement Commendation from the National Forum on Children’s Science Books.

Simon, Seymour. The Heart: Our Circulatory System. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1996.