Nonfiction: Lungs: Your Respiratory System by Seymour Simon

1. Bibliographic data
Simon, Seymor. Lungs: Your Respiratory System. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 2007.
ISBN: 0-06-054655-7

2. Brief plot summary
Lungs: Your Respiratory System takes a look inside one of the most vital systems in the human body. Starting from an intake of breathe, through the nasal cavity, down the trachea, and into the lungs, readers will follow the oxygen, as well as get the facts about what exactly your body does with each breathe you take.

3. Critical analysis
Lungs takes an extraordinary look inside the human body. Seymour Simon sets up the book to take readers from inhaling through all the steps our body takes to getting the oxygen it requires to survive. The front cover will grab the reader’s attention, but what will keep it will be the easy to understand way that Simon explains the science of breathing. The pictures will help the readers visualize each part of the respiratory system. Between the man sneezing and the photograph of a person's trachea, students will be fascinated what they see. The Glossary and Index keep the book very user friendly.

4. Review excerpt
a. School Library Journal: “The writing is concise and full of clear examples meaningful to kids.”
b. Booklist: “Although this book isn't quite as detailed as some of the author's previous texts about the human body, there's still plenty of information for elementary-school readers.”

5. Connections
a. Related Books:
i. The Brain by Seymour Simon
ii. The Heart by Seymour Simon
iii. Guts by Seymour Simon
b. Activities:
Great book to use in a science class. You could split the class into groups and have each group focus on a different human body system. Many of Seymour Simon’s books could be used as references.