Once Upon an Eyeball—How the Nose Knows Roses, by Bill Kirk, illustrated by Eugene Ruble, is the tenth and last book in his informative “The Sum of Our Parts” book series on the body. His other books are listed at the end of this review.
Once upon an eyeball,
An eyelash slowly fell.
It drifted down so lightly
That one could hardly tell.
The brain went into action—
Fired signals left and right.
The eyelids started blinking
Then closed themselves up tight.
The rhymes are fun entertainment. The pictures are humorous
at times, but clear and exact when scientific information and illustration is
required. And the factoids satisfy our need to know in greater detail how the
eye tells the brain what it sees and feels. I especially like that the
illustrations show girls and boys, men and women.
In the second half of the book, Mr. Kirk (and Mr. Ruble)
tell and show what happens when you smell a rose, or other smells. The rhyme
asks the question:
When smelling a flower,
If you were a nose,
How would you know
That a rose is a rose?
Then the explanation talks about the process of smelling
something—the sweet, the rotten, the awful—then how the brain “catalogs” it for
future reference. Years later you’ll be able to recall the memory of the smell
and often call up scenes of where and when that smell occurred.
Eugene Ruble’s artwork faithfully depicts what’s happening
in the body when seeing and smelling. He uses a playful pastel color scheme. In
keeping with the humorous vein of the rhymes, some artwork is teasing, funny,
and cute. The scientific illustrations are clearly presented.
For years, my daughter has played the “Did you know?”
game followed by some trivia fact. This would be a good book series for kids
who like to sprinkle their conversations with facts about body parts and how
they function.
This is an appropriate and appealing body parts book series recommended
for teachers, school and city libraries, hospitals, medical and dental offices—and for home
libraries of “future” doctors and dentists!
The Sum of Our Parts Book Series is published by www.guardianangelpublishing.com
and available from www.amazon.com
and www.barnesandnoble.com and
other quality online book sellers. Here are the other body parts books in the
series:
A Brainy
Refrain: The Sum of Our
Part Series, Book 1
No Bones
About It: The Sum of Our
Part Series, Book 2
My Tooth Is
Loose: The Sum of Our
Parts Series, Book 5
The Skin
We're In: The Sum of Our
Parts Series, Book 6
The Ins and
Outs of Air: The Sum of
Our Parts Series, Book 7
Tissue Tantra:
The Sum of Our Parts Series, Book 9
From Bill Kirk’s Amazon Author Bio: “Asking children's writer Bill Kirk why he
writes his stories in rhyme, he will tell you rhyme gives a story its feel,
like working with clay at a wheel. Do you like the sound of iambic beat and the
rich texture of rhymes that roll off your tongue? Take one of Bill Kirk's
stories home with you. Travel with your children on a rhythmic journey of
action and everyday adventure.”
More information on author Bill Kirk is at: www.billkirkwrites.com,
Artist Eugene Ruble holds an Associates Degree in Fine Arts
from Forest Park Community
College and a degree in Multi-Media and Fine Arts from Washington University
in St. Louis.
He has creates award-winning, mixed-media
sculptures and engravings. Mr. Ruble also illustrates children’s books
for Guardian Angel Publishing.
*******
Tags: Bill Kirk, Eugene Ruble, Eyes, Nose, Smells, Body Parts,
