Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. All opinions are my own.

Earlier this morning I shared a book about ancient Egypt I received for a review. This morning I wanted to share another ready activated book that may catch your attention because of the subject the human body. Others boos may catch your attention because of the way they feel in your hands. Discover the Human Body managed to do both for me.

The cover is a beautiful blue, but what really caught my attention was the texture. When you run your hand across the cover, you can almost feel the skin. It is one of those little details that makes you want to pick the book up and start looking through it. And once you open it, there is so much more to discover.

Inside Discover the Human Body, you’ll find detailed illustrations, timelines, and information that makes the subject much easier to explore. One of the things I especially enjoyed were the timelines throughout the book. They aren’t just something interesting to look at—they can actually become the starting point for a lesson.

For families who homeschool, I can easily see using those timelines as part of a science lesson, a history lesson, or even a writing assignment. The illustrations are another part of the book that really stands out. You can see skeletons inside the bodies and explore what is happening underneath the surface.

Instead of simply reading that we have bones, muscles, organs, and other systems, children have the opportunity to actually look at how everything fits together. That makes this the kind of book where you can sit down with a child and keep finding another page to talk about.

There is another part of this book that I definitely don’t want to leave out because it is easy to overlook if you simply pick up Discover the Human Body is a Ready Activated book and start reading the stories without checking the instructions out.

The book includes QR codes that help connect the printed book with its interactive experience. This is where Alexa comes into the picture. You don’t necessarily need to already own an Alexa device to explore the interactive portion. There is a free Alexa app that can be downloaded to a compatible device, which was something I didn’t realize at first.

That means families who don’t have an Alexa or Echo sitting on the kitchen counter they shouldn’t automatically assume they can’t use the interactive features. My suggestion is to take a few minutes to get the technology set up before sitting down for your first reading session because there is a free Alexa version which I didn’t know about. That was a #TeachingMoment for my family.

Scan the QR code, follow the instructions, and make sure everything is working. That way, when you’re reading with a child, you aren’t stopping in the middle of the lesson trying to figure out the technology. I also like that the technology doesn’t replace the actual book.

The book is still a beautiful, hands-on resource that you can read, look through, discuss, and return to. The Ready Activated features simply give you another way to interact with what you’re learning. For David who struggles with reading having this feature is a Godsend for him and Charlie who becomes bored with reading books.

As someone who #homeschooled, I immediately started thinking about all the ways I could use this book for lessons. The timelines alone could provide plenty of opportunities for discussion. You could choose one section, have a child read it, talk about the illustrations, look up unfamiliar words, and then use the information for a writing or science assignment.

And don’t overlook the glossary at the back of the book. That glossary could easily become part of a homeschool lesson, especially for spelling and vocabulary. There are so many medical and scientific words that children may not encounter in everyday conversation.

Writing those words down, learning what they mean, and practicing how to spell them could turn a few pages of the book into an entire vocabulary lesson. But I don’t want anyone to think this is only a homeschool book. It isn’t.

Even though Discover the Human Body is written with children in mind, I can easily see adults enjoying the book just as much as my family did. That is why were adding it to our 10 Minutes Reading challenge and yes, if you read this book you earn a ticket.

Anyone who is interested in health, medicine, doctors, the human body, or how our bodies work could find something interesting inside these pages. Maybe you’re the person who always has questions when you go to the doctor.

Maybe you enjoy learning about medicine. Maybe you have a child who constantly asks, “Why does my body do that?” Or maybe you’re simply curious about what is happening underneath your skin. This book gives you a way to explore those subjects together.

I can even see it sitting on a coffee table where a child picks it up to look at the pictures, while an adult ends up sitting down and reading through it, too. That’s one of the things I appreciate about children’s nonfiction books when they’re done well. They don’t have to be limited to children.

5 Tips for Using the Ready Activated Features

If you purchase Discover the Human Body, here are a few things I would recommend doing:

1. Look for the QR codes.– Don’t skip over them. They are an important part of connecting the physical book with the interactive experience.

2. Remember that you can use the free Alexa app.– You don’t have to assume you need an Alexa speaker already sitting in your home.

3. Set everything up before reading.– A few minutes of preparation can make the actual reading experience much smoother.

4. Keep the book in front of you while exploring.– The fun is in combining the information you’re seeing on the pages with the interactive portion.

5. Let the questions keep going.– If something in the book makes your child ask another question, stop and explore it. That’s where a book like this can turn into a much bigger learning experience.

I’ve also created a free printable with tips for using Ready Activated books, along with space to record what you discovered. It can be used alongside the book instead of simply putting the book back on the shelf when you’re finished.

One thing my family liked about Discover the Human Body is that it doesn’t feel like a book you read once and put away. You can use the timelines for lessons and you can use the glossary for spelling and vocabulary.

You can explore the illustrations and see the skeletons and structures inside the body and you can use the QR codes and Ready Activated features to add an interactive element. Or you can simply pick it up because you want to know more about the human body.

Even though it is a children’s book, I think there are plenty of adults who would enjoy learning from it right along with their children. For a family interested in science, health, medicine, homeschooling, or simply understanding how our bodies work, Discover the Human Body gives you a lot to explore—both on the pages and beyond them.

Grateful, Thankful, Blessed,

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates