Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack

by Stacy McAnulty, Matthew Rivera (Illustrator)

Overview

From Stacy McAnulty, author of the funny STEM picture book Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years and Our Universe series, comes the beginning of an exciting new picture book series focused on the science of the body.

Brains. 78% water, 100% delicious. A zombie chef who has sworn off eating brains salivates over this super powerful organ in this funny and fact-filled picture book. From learning about how the brain processes messages from our five senses, to learning why wrinkly human brains are so much more powerful than smooth mouse brains, this is a hilarious introduction to the organ that does it all. Rich with kid-friendly facts and beautifully brought to life by Matthew Rivera, this is a charming and irresistible picture book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250849953
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	59 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Stacy McAnulty is the author of over thirty books for children, notably the nonfiction picture book series Our Universe, which includes titles, Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, Mars! Earthlings Welcome, and Moon! Earth's Best Friend, among others. She's also the author of picture books A Small Kindness, Beautiful, Brave, and Love, and she writes books for middle grade readers including The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, and Millionaires for the Month. Stacy lives in North Carolina with her family and as many dogs as she can sneak in the house.

Matthew Rivera earned his bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Arizona. After many years of being an art director for agencies, corporations, and toymakers, Matthew now writes and illustrates stories for children. He has illustrated many best-loved picture books, including Roxy the last Unisaurus written by Eva Chen.

Stacy McAnulty is the author of many books for children, notably the nonfiction picture book series Our Universe, which includes titles, Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, Mars! Earthlings Welcome, and Moon! Earth's Best Friend, among others. She's also the author of picture books Brains! Not Just a Zombie Snack, A Small Kindness, Beautiful, Brave, and Love, and she writes books for middle grade readers including The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and Millionaires for the Month. Stacy lives in North Carolina with her family and as many dogs as she can sneak in the house.
Matthew Rivera earned his bachelor degree in fine arts from the University of Arizona. After many years of being an art director for agencies, corporations, and toymakers, Matthew now writes and illustrates stories for children, such as Brains: Not Just a Zombie Snack and Roxy the Last Unisaurus Rex.

Editorial Reviews

2021-06-16
A wild-eyed, green-skinned, ponytailed zombie in a chef’s hat discusses a favorite food.

What makes human brains so amazing, if not downright delicious? This medley of brain-related information covers many of the basics: a mention of neurons and their supporting glial cells, and the fact that human brains have more folds than those of other creatures. Parts of the brain are introduced: the brain stem (“you need this to breathe, and to hiccup, and to sneeze, and to keep your temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit”), the cerebellum, and finally, “the cerebrum—the gray stuff.” This last is accompanied by a diagram indicating each section (parietal lobe, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe) in a different color. The brain’s role in the five senses is mentioned but merely attributes touching, hearing, seeing, smelling, and tasting to the skin, ears, eyes, nose, and tongue, without elaboration. The zombie conceit is fairly funny, as the zombie narrator appears to have an increasingly difficult time refraining from munching on the subject matter, and Rivera’s cartoon illustrations have a zany energy. Front endpapers feature 11 mammal brains (including human) plus a viper’s and an owl’s. Back endpapers amusingly are missing one of these—a “scrumptious” one. Seven brain facts, a brief list of sources, and an author’s note make up the backmatter.

Fun, if not quite enough for someone hungry to chew on all the details. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews