Lobe Your Brain: What Matters About Your Grey Matter
Lobe Your Brain is a colorful book about how your brain works. Although it is laid out like a 32-page picture book, it’s really for older kids, ages five and up. Adults will learn a thing or two, as well.
Two scientists narrate the script. Right away, the information gets technical with neurons, dendrites, and axons. The illustrations help show how neurons talk to one another. As the scientists continue their narration, the art shows a boy and girl with interior nerve endings drawn in blue. “Down the middle of your back is your spinal cord. The spinal cord is like a busy highway between the brain and the rest of the body.”
Then the general information becomes more specific. Now the brain, with its different lobes in various shades of brown, is shown along with the five body parts tied to the five senses—eye, ear, nose, mouth, and skin (hand).
“Your brain gets information about how pretty the rainbow over your house is after it rains, how wonderful your favorite music sounds, or how annoying your baby brother is for poking you with his finger.”
The next double-page spread discusses the cerebellum with a brain image in the upper left-hand corner, showing it in pink. “When you are playing soccer, the cerebellum makes you breathe faster and your heart beats faster in order to run faster.”
The next page discusses the four different lobes: parietal, frontal, temporal, and occipital. The following pages show which lobe is being discussed by a scientist pointing to it in the upper left-hand corner, then explaining what it helps do.
“The temporal lobe . . . helps people learn new facts and ideas, like what your address is or what you call a dinosaur that only eats plants.”
The temporal lobe gets two double-page spreads. The other lobes get one. Another page points out the limbic system. “This system helps you figure out how you might feel about your decisions.”
The final double-page spread shows both scientists and three children holding red hearts made out of brain lobes. “So, there you have it. Your big beautiful brain. We hope you like it. In fact, we hope you lobe it!”
Suddenly the title makes more sense. It’s a visual play on words (lobe for love). Since it doesn’t work in an auditory way (love and lobe don’t rhyme), the last page helps explain it.
Lobe your Brain is informative, fun, and easy to understand. Every aspiring brain surgeon, plus everyone else, will benefit from a read or two or three.