Back to: Arts & Entertainment

11/99
Looking for suggestions of books on the human body, including reproductive 
info, for a
four-year old.    Not too cutesy (she knows ears, eyes, knees, etc.), but 
not so
technical that it isn't entertaining.
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I suggest you check out the bookstore on Oxford a couple of doors up from
Ben and Jerry's. I think the name of the store is Living Arts or
something like that. It supplies books for the nursing program at Merritt
Community College and I think also for Samuel Merritt College (the private
nursing college next door to Summit Hospital). This little bookstore is
great! I went there to purchase my text book for a nutrition class at
Laney. The prices are good and the people are great. They also carry
general books for the layperson as well as the specialized texts. You can
also find models, charts, and diagrams of various sorts. I'm pretty sure
you will find what you need there. If not, the staff can certainly advise
you on where to go.

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I recently checked out a book from the Claremont Branch of the Berkeley
library for my 3 year old. Parts of it were a little more than I was looking
for, but it was set up in chapters, so it was very easy to read what I wanted
to, and leave the rest. It was called "What's the Big Secret?" by Laurie
Krasny Brown, and Marc Brown. It was also recommended this month in
Parenting Magazine. (They recommend it for 5 and up, but like I say, I was
able to take what I wanted and leave the rest, as my daughter can't read
yet). Also (with the magazine on my lap) they recommend "See How You Grow"
by
Dr. Patricia Pearse (ages 4 and up), "How You Were Born" by Joanna Cole (ages
3 and up), and "Did the Sun Shine Before You Were Born?" (ages 5 and up) by
Sol and Judith Gordon (Parenting Magazine, November 1999, page 133)


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Here is one to check out for your 4-year old: *My Body* by Images, Designed by
Emilie Beaumont, Text by P. Simon, Pictures by N. Soubrouillard. It's by
Fleurus Press, ISBN Number 0-7651-9182-2. This book covers anatomy, the five
senses, birth and growing up, and food and hygiene. They have three other
books in the series. I think I bought this at Black Oak Books, Berkeley.

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The book I reall like is "How Your Body Works", by Judy Hindley and Colin 
King,
published by Usborne. I got it at Mr Mopp's a couple years ago--my son was
4-3/4 at the time. It has a lot of mechanical models but all the pictures are
hand-drawn. If you want entertainment along with education, this book fits
the bill.