Give Me a Hand

The Secrets of Hands, Feet, Arms, and Legs

by Melissa Stewart

Benchmark Books, 2010

for Grades 3 to 5

ISBN 978–0‑76144–158‑8

Purchase this book at your local independent bookseller or Amazon.com.

The lively, conversational tone and blend of photos and cartoon-style art make Give Me a Hand: The Secrets of Hands, Feet, Arms, and Legs a perfect blend of fun facts and serious science learning about grabbing, grasping, and moving from place to place. Here at last — a book that’s irreverent enough to captivate young readers, yet authoritative enough to win the praise of teachers, librarians, and parents.

Honors and Awards

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator/Anna Cross Giblin Nonfiction Research Grant

Reviews

“The Gross and Goofy Body [series of books] enlivens physiology for kids, offering humorous yet scientific surveys of body functions in just under 50 pages each. Kids in grades 2–4 will find [these books] appealing and fun. Each blends photos with fun cartoons and photos of kids, along with plenty of basic physiology.” (Children’s Bookwatch)

“Despite its irreverent moniker, the Gross and Goofy Body series offers detailed science facts in a fashion approachable enough to make it a welcome supplement to school textbooks. Each volume takes on a part or function of the body and then goes through the paces of description, metaphor, examples, data, and, most extensively, comparison to our animal counterparts. … the layout is fresh, clean, and colorful, sidebars keep things conversational, and the back matter is solid.” (Booklist)

Behind the Book

“Of all the books in this series, this one initially made me the most nervous. When I started out, I wasn’t sure there’d be enough fascinating facts to make this book as interesting as the others. Boy, was I wrong. I should know by now that if you do diligent research, you’re almost never let down. The world is a weird and wacky place.

“What did my research uncover? Well, for starters, I learned that in many ancient cultures, body parts were used to measure things. I also discovered that dogs and cats can be either right-handed or left-handed and that a millipede can have up to 400 legs. Just imagine what it would look like doing a jig! See, I told you. Fascinating stuff.”