All about the brain by Dr Gabriel Dabscheck. Illus. by Kim Siew

All About the Brain, written by Dr Gabriel Dabscheck, a paediatric neurologist at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, is the second book in the All About the Body non-fiction series. In this latest release readers are introduced to the brain as the boss of the body. It controls our senses, out movements and our thoughts. The brain stores our memories and gives us our personality.

Most living creatures have a brain with the octopus having a mini brain in each of its eight arms. Sponges and jellyfish do not have a brain but the sperm whale has a brain that weighs about 9 kilograms. Our human brain weighs about 1 kilogram and is the size of a grapefruit. Throughout this engaging book are interesting facts that young readers will enjoy hearing, especially about what makes up our brain, what it looks like and how it works. The information about our senses and how the brain triggers each one to play a different role is fascinating.

The highly accessible information presented on each page is in large font and well-spaced. It is surrounded by vibrant images and diagrams using a consistent colour palette of green, purple, orange, pink and white. There is short glossary at the end looking at challenging key words such as hippocampus and cerebellum.

This is a wonderful companion to All About the Heart, CBCA 2024 Eve Pownall Notable book, and a perfect addition to library shelves.

Themes: Brain, Science, Human Bodies.

Kathryn Beilby