Member Reviews
This sets itself apart from other comics on the same topic by starting with the contents of the system instead of the organs or processes. We learn about nutrients, guided by a mouth bacterium, before moving into the structure and function of the mouth. The journey continues through the digestive tract.
I found it cute that the various guides to different parts of the process only know about their own sections, with everything else being unknown. It’s rather bureaucratic, even though they’re bacteria. And cute is needed, as the material is full of unfamiliar medical terms, but the smiling bacteria, and the humorous cartoon approach, help make it more entertaining. It’s a lot to take in all at once, though, perhaps too much.
This book is colorful, bold, and fun to read. Descriptive and educational, it is an easy way to understand the parts of the digestive system and what is happening as food passes through it. A great way for students (and adults!) to learn a little something that is more fun than a traditional textbook.
Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
I love this concept of having Non Fiction graphic novels for kids! I wish I had these when I was growing up for sure. I must say, though, this was not my favorite from the series. I did learn from it, but even with the images to support me, there were still some times when I felt like it was information overload. I still think these books are great additions to any home or library, but this one was a little too much for me to digest in one sitting- pun intended.
A graphic novel tour of the digestive system with the help of some friendly bacteria who give tours of the various stops along the way and tell how food is broken down at each point and what helps out in the process.
I taught Biology and AP Bio for several years, and even I learned a few things from this. (Like the fact that they’ve figured out the appendix actually does have a purpose in recent years.) This was incredibly thorough. AP Bio students could totally use this to review the digestive system before the exam in May. It covers more info than would actually appear on any AP test (which means it could also substitute for any high school or entry college level textbook section on this body system). And it is way, way, WAY more entertaining than any textbook. So you get loads of educational information and you get entertained. Sounds like a win win to me. Highly recommended.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is jam packed with information, almost to the point of too much! While it is full of interesting facts, it still brings some humor and lightheartedness to the subject.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC.
This is an informative, maybe too informative, book about the digestive system. I haven't read a Science Comics book before but I thought they were meant for upper elementary students. This book would probably be too difficult for a lot of younger students. I thin that some high schoolers might find the language to be too much. I found myself glossing over some of the pages because it felt more like a textbook.
This would be a good addition to a school library and could be used in a science course where the vocabulary could be explained more.
Fun way to learn more about the human body systems. We are using this for our human body systems studies this year and excited to have the to incorporate into our studies.
I have read and reviewed several Science Comics books previously. I generally find them to be very informative and fun for the kids. (Adults too.) While this book was plenty informative, it might have been too informative. There were a ton of complicated words right from the beginning and my kid’s (13yrs and 11) eyes just started to gloss over. True, there is a glossary in the back, but there were just too many terms to wrap their brains around. The pictures helped a little, but the best parts, naturally, were the parts that talked about burping, farting and vomiting. My favorite part was when the little narrator realized what he truly was. Fun story, but information overload for the kids. Thank you, NetGalley and First Second books for the arc in exchange for my unbiased review.
This book is interesting and fairly informative, but it is not up to the level of many of the science comics series. Neither the humor nor the illustrations are as good as we wished.
Science comics is a popular series at my library and with my 7 year old. I enjoyed this one, but not as much as I have others I've read in the past.
I am a huge fan of the Science Comic graphic novel series! What a fun way to lure students/kids into learning about new things. Graphic novels are very popular with my students at the moment. I was both intrigued and disgusted as I read about the digestive process! Great information.
In this entry of Science Comics, artist and writer attempt to break down a complicated system and explain it with clever illustrations, narrated by bacteria found throughout the digestive system. Readers are taken through the major areas of digestion: the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and the rectum. Other organs discussed are the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and appendix. Vomit, burping, and farting are also explained as products and necessary functions of digestion.
I was initially thrown a bit off this title because the first concept that was chosen to to covered was the different elements that are in our food that the body must absorb for its functions. This created an introduction full of complex terms and scientific processes without much background to go off of. In other Science Comics titles, words in the glossary are highlighted a different color when they appear in the text, but not so with this one. They are italicized, but not indicated that these words appear in the glossary at the end. Once I got past the types of materials, the rest of the explanation of digestion and the parts of the process were broken down nicely and easier to digest 😜.
The accompanying illustrations more often provided comic relief, less often actually illustrated the process that was being described. They did provide some needed levity to a very dense topic.
Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 4-10
This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley.
A thorough and fun look at the digestive system. I love the use of a bacteria as the narrative, taking us along on their journey. Turning the different parts of the system into characters made it a lot more engaging than simply explaining them, even with colorful artwork. There is a lot of information in here so it may potentially overwhelm some readers. It's broken up so it's easy to stop and pick it up again but it's still a lot of info to consume.
Very readable tour of your digestive system filled with humor to keep you focused on the journey. An excellent addition to the Science comics series.
Science Comics: The Digestive System didn't disappoint. The illustrations were clear and the comic panels were easy to follow. Words combined with panels help the visual learner in understanding the human digestive system. It's not only helpful for those currently learning about the Digestive System, but helps satisfy the curiousity of children interested in learning about the human bodies. Another winner from Science Comics.
This is a graphic novel/comic about the digestive system. It is intended for middle grades, but there is a lot of information in it. I do not know that children would understand or enjoy all of the information. It went much further in detail than that age group needs to know. Perhaps for the right child it would be good. The pictures were engaging, It was just the words that were daunting. The book was way too long!
Thank you First Second and Netgalley for the digital ARC.
Another great book in the Science Comics series. I liked the choice of narrator in this title as a oft replicating bacteria and their journey through the digestive system. I felt it made complex biology easy to understand and helps to explain that the science has changed over the years for what the things in the body actually do (for example the Appendix actually serves as a microbial/microbiome restorative should something happen).
I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Jason Viola and First Second Books through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book contains a lot of information about the digestive system, at times it was a little dry, but I think this book will provide the most entertaining way for kids to learn about the digestive system. The illustrations were humorous and interesting.
This one really went for it! It truly follows the digestive system from masticating to constipation and everything in between. Because it didn't skimp on the information, it was much more of an info dump than previous Science Comics entries. On one hand, this is probably one of, if not the most informative entries into the series. On the other hand, it's a lot for one book! For kids who are interested in the digestive system, this is going to be amazing, for those who aren't so interested, their eyes might start to glaze over.
Like all in the series this is brilliantly written, colourful and engaging. My son loved it and I’ll be ordering copies for school.