Really Short Journey Through the Body
'A sure-fire winner . . . sparkles with interest and excitement throughout' - Guardian Best Children's Books of 2023
You’ll spend your WHOLE LIFE in your body. So it’s only fair you know how it works, right?
This book will teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about the machine that is YOU. From your astonishing brain to your hard-working heart.
Get ready for the BIG questions, like:
- How many muscles do you move playing Fortnight? (A twitch of a thumb on the controller uses TEN muscles)
- Are chillis actually HOT? (Short answer: no. We’ve been fooled by a plant.)
- How far can we sneeze? (Your sneeze droplets can reach up to eight meters – which means you could sneeze over an entire class.)
You’ll also meet people like Chevalier Jackson, who collected things that people had swallowed by accident (for science, of course). And learn about why we poo (and why it smells).
Packed with facts, history and humour, this beautifully illustrated book, from global bestselling science and history author Bill Bryson (ask your mum, he’s the one with the beard), will help you understand the secrets to our bodies and brains.
'Offers children a series of fascinating scientific facts' - Daily Telegraph
Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. His bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. In a national poll, Notes from a Small Island was voted the book that best represents Britain. His acclaimed work of popular science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize, and is the biggest selling non-fiction book of the 21st century. The Body: A Guide for Occupants was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and is an international bestseller.
Bill Bryson was Chancellor of Durham University 2005-2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in England.