A comparative, cross-species look at elements of skeletal structures features a different bony body part on each page spread, from hands (including fins and claws) to feet (including hooves, and claws again) to skulls, and much of what’s in between. The creatures compared vary from bone to bone: a human has twelve pairs of ribs, a two-toed sloth twenty-four, a small python two hundred, while turtles of all sizes have ribs that grow on the outside, fusing together to form a shell. Spine comparisons included a dog, a dolphin, a giraffe, a velociraptor, and a human (humans being the constant throughout the book). Conscientious notations of scale for bones provide additional means of comparison on some pages (the scale varies from bone to bone on others). Bright bones contrast against deeply colored backgrounds, making the details of Jenkins’s skeletal collages stand out. Catchy headings (“Some Assembly Required” for the final skeletal spread showing every bone in the human body laid out) invite smiles along with fascination, while some final facts about bones conclude this multi-jointed volume. (Ages 6–11)

Caldecott Honor winner Steve Jenkins presents a fascinating look at the bones of the human body as compared to the bones of animals, and shows them off!

This book is far from skinny -- it's the definitive nonfiction title about human and animal bones, delivered with in-your-face accuracy and intrigue. In this visually driven volume, kids come face-to-face with some head-to-toe boney comparisons, many of them shown at actual size. Here you'll find the differences between a man's hand and that of a spider monkey; the great weight of an elephant's leg, paired with the feather-light femur of a stork; and rib-tickling info about snakes and sloths. How many bones are in the whole human body?