Getting children to put down their phone, tablet or Xbox controller to read a book can be a challenge at the best of times. Getting them to read something with educational value is a battle no one wants. Books that teach and educate are certainly not ones that children would have any interest in, especially subjects like biology and the human body (just because they mention that dreaded word “educational”). Well, writer and comedian Adam Kay has written a children’s educational book about biology and the human body, a book that children will just adore and really enjoy reading (and learning from) – this book is called Kay’s Anatomy! And before parents start complaining that they don’t want their children learning about anatomy from a comedian (how accurate will the information be?), Adam Kay used to be a junior doctor for a number of years, so he probably does know what he is talking about.
Kay’s Anatomy is a complete (and completely disgusting) guide to the human body showing the wonders and complete weirdness of the human body. It covers every from acne, arteries and autism to veins, viruses and vomit. It is written and presented in a way that children will want to put down their electronic devices just to read it (unless they are reading it on a Kindle of course)!
The human body and its functions can be a very dry, difficult and even boring topic for children to have an interest in. Adam Kay has taken human biology and turned it into a fun subject looking at organs and their functions, what blood is for and how it is made, how humans reproduce and even life and death, and lots more over its 400 pages. It really is an instruction manual for your body, organ by organ, and yes kids, there are plenty of poo references along the way to keep you all giggling (with facts explaining why your poo is brown for example). And for parents, it doesn’t just focus on the silly poo and fart references, it also looks at more serious topics like the dangers and effects things like smoking, drug use and alcohol have on the body as well as healthy eating and getting enough sleep and exercise.
Overall, Adam Kay has written a truly remarkable educational book that is not only packed with information and facts about the wonder that is the human body but one that is jam-packed with humour that children will love. It is a fascinating look at the human body and its functions written in a humorous way that is not condescending and uses very child friendly terminology as a way of getting the information across (and retained).
Whilst it is very funny and delivers the facts with comedy, it does so without losing sight of the topic (what other anatomy book would you read a line about a kangaroo in a bow tie teaching you fractions while twerking?).
Packed with facts like the brain can process 400 billion things a second, with the addendum of how many years it would take you to count to 400 billion and questions answered like are bogeys safe to eat? and How much of your life will you spend on the toilet? children (and fun loving adults) won’t be able to put this book down.
To add a bit of extra fun to the book, it has some excellent comic illustrations by Henry Paker to break up the text. Whilst these illustrations are fun, they are also very enlightening and help get the information in the text across.
Kay’s Anatomy is a really funny, entertaining, enjoyable and light-hearted but very informative book that every school age child should read – it covers Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 human biology syllabus (in a slightly repulsive way)! It’s a fun read whilst at the same time being very educational and an excellent way to learn more about the human body. This is definitely a book that will educate and support biology lessons, all in a fun way.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £14.99 (Hardback) / £8.99 (Paperback) / £8.99 (Kindle)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
