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A review by katykelly
Kay's Anatomy: A Complete (and Completely Disgusting) Guide to the Human Body by Adam Kay
5.0
Engaging and interactive biology lesson.
Kay brings his entertaining persona and humorous attitude towards the body to a younger audience, giving us Gray's Anatomy (a joke no child will understand) for children.
Narrating this audiobook himself, he is joined by Skeleton, by Heart, Lungs, etc, who 'help' him explain the workings of each organ and system of the body, with quizzes, 'True or Poo' (true or false), fun facts, and lots of 'Horrible History'-type detail that will have the kids laughing ('farticle' got my own personal funny bone shaking) and adults pretending they aren't.
A great run-through the whole body, including Puberty, Pregnancy and touching on Sex Education, Kay makes it as interesting as he can, giving great examples, comparisons and child-friendly language that show a deftness of touch with the target audience.
As an audiobook, it both worked and didn't work. It felt like a list at times, without a break between sections, as we listened in the car on journeys. The voices of the characters amused both my 9- and 3-year old, but I have no idea if we missed any useful diagrams and illustrations in a written version. And the vocabulary is a challenge to both spell and internalise when you only hear it and don't see it. So much ground covered and it passes by quite quickly through that interesting organ, the ear!
Kay himself is a good narrator though, and using actors to voice the organs did help keep it from becoming dry.
I've studied biology to A-Level and admit that I learned quite a few things from this. My 9-year-old was definitely engaged and taking it in, and the chapter on puberty was quite a relevant one that I'll be using as a springboard for more detailed discussion in the not-so-distant-anymore future.
A really comprehensive beginners' guide to the body for ages 8-12. Will catch interest and give some great facts to start off a querying mind on a vital path.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
Kay brings his entertaining persona and humorous attitude towards the body to a younger audience, giving us Gray's Anatomy (a joke no child will understand) for children.
Narrating this audiobook himself, he is joined by Skeleton, by Heart, Lungs, etc, who 'help' him explain the workings of each organ and system of the body, with quizzes, 'True or Poo' (true or false), fun facts, and lots of 'Horrible History'-type detail that will have the kids laughing ('farticle' got my own personal funny bone shaking) and adults pretending they aren't.
A great run-through the whole body, including Puberty, Pregnancy and touching on Sex Education, Kay makes it as interesting as he can, giving great examples, comparisons and child-friendly language that show a deftness of touch with the target audience.
As an audiobook, it both worked and didn't work. It felt like a list at times, without a break between sections, as we listened in the car on journeys. The voices of the characters amused both my 9- and 3-year old, but I have no idea if we missed any useful diagrams and illustrations in a written version. And the vocabulary is a challenge to both spell and internalise when you only hear it and don't see it. So much ground covered and it passes by quite quickly through that interesting organ, the ear!
Kay himself is a good narrator though, and using actors to voice the organs did help keep it from becoming dry.
I've studied biology to A-Level and admit that I learned quite a few things from this. My 9-year-old was definitely engaged and taking it in, and the chapter on puberty was quite a relevant one that I'll be using as a springboard for more detailed discussion in the not-so-distant-anymore future.
A really comprehensive beginners' guide to the body for ages 8-12. Will catch interest and give some great facts to start off a querying mind on a vital path.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.