Smart Kids Body IQ
by: Adriana Puckett
About the book:
Body IQ is a book and game kit, which includes a spiral-bound book, Body Quest game board and pieces, a body IQ poster, and a plastic skeleton model. The book has large fonts, vibrant design, and colorful photographs of kids appearing to be ages 3-8. It covers major parts of the body, functions of the brain, nutrition, internal workings, the skeleton, senses, and babies.
The game board folds up into a plastic niche in the cover of the book. It follows standard game fare: players roll a die, move their piece forward and try to reach the finish first. Along the way are such health hazards as “You have broken your arm. Skip a turn and go to the hospital,” or bonuses as “Stretch your muscles and spring forward one space.”
The plastic glow-in-the-dark skeleton is supposed to be adhered to the wall or another surface with reusable adhesive.
What parents need to know
The counters and die that accompany the game definitely prove a choking hazard to kids who are still mouthing things. Also, some of the 21 skeleton pieces are small as well.
The bottom line:
My kids are fascinated by the workings of the human body and gravitate toward any book or toy that shows a skeleton or internal parts of the body. Therefore, it’s not surprising that they did enjoy playing, at least initially, with this toy. I expected my 7 ½-year-old son to come back to the book on his own and left it out to see if it attracted his attention, but he never again picked it up. I realized later that the text of the book was too juvenile to hold his interest. While he likes to read about specific skeleton parts, he is too old for such exercises as recognizing the feelings shown on children’s faces (surprised, angry, happy, sad, etc.). Also, the children pictured are in the preschool to early elementary school age range. It seems to be that this book is best used in conjunction with a parent or another caregiver reading the text and answering questions.
My son and 5 ½ -year-old daughter enjoyed playing the game and wanted to keep playing it for a while. I found playing it twice to be my limit. One note – the font on some of the game squares is pretty tiny and would prove challenging for a beginning reader to read. My children needed me to read those to them, at least the first time around.
The poster held little interest and was immediately tossed aside. The 21 skeleton pieces were scattered across the floor and were confiscated by Mom once I saw that they would be quickly lost. I am not crazy about the idea of putting small skeleton pieces on my wall with reusable adhesive, but I think you could modify that exercise by putting the skeleton together on a piece of cardboard or heavy cardstock, and then hanging it on a bulletin board. Another application would be to use it as a puzzle and store it in a tough Ziploc bag.
The scoop:
Talking about reproduction with young children is always tricky, but some approaches are better than others for different families. This book explains intercourse as “Men and women make babies together by having a special cuddle.” My husband found that explanation charming; I found it annoying.
While we enjoyed playing with this set for about an hour, it quickly lost its interest for my children after that. It would be a nice thing to have along on vacation (to play in a hotel room, for example), but its long-term application is limited.
Book author
Roger Priddy
