About the Holiday
We’re still celebrating one of the best months of the year—Picture Book Month! If you’re starting your holiday shopping, don’t forget to add picture books to your list for the kids in your life. With so many picture books to choose from on all kinds of topics, there’s sure to be a perfect book for each child. You know what they say—and it’s really true: A book is a gift you can open again and again, and today’s book is loaded with interactive elements that will keep kids coming back again and again!
Thank you to Twirl and Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for sending me a copy of this book for review!
The Ultimate Book of the Human Body
Written by Anne-Sophie Baumann | Illustrated by Vanessa Robidou
If you’re raising or know a child who’s a future medical professional or one who’s simply interested in learning all about health and anatomy, they’ll be enthralled with The Ultimate Book of the Human Body. Teachers and other educators will also find this book an impactful introduction to how the body works that students will love exploring.
Offering an astonishing amount of information on every page, this oversized book is an interactive marvel that engages children through short and detailed, yet easily understood paragraphs that analyze all parts of the body from the tiniest mole to the largest organ: the skin. More than 60 flaps, pull tabs, and tiny booklets take kids under the skin and inside the body with illustrations worthy of a medical textbook. There’s even an articulated skeleton that demonstrates how our joints work.
Illustration @ 2025 by Vanessa Robidou. Text © 2025 by Anne-Sophie Baumann. Courtesy of Twirl.
The book is broken into these eleven sections:
The Skeleton: Bones and More in which children learn about bone shapes; the makeup of bones; how bones heal; and information on the skull, spine, and joints. They can interact with a full-size hand that reveals all 27 bones that allow the fingers and wrists to move the way they do.
Skin and Muscles introduces kids to the layers of skin; how the skin heals and reacts to various types of bug bites; how impulses flow from our fingers to the brain; what a pimple and a mole are; what tanning is, and more. Children also get a full view of the muscles and how they work to show different emotions.
Lungs reveals why we need oxygen, why we cough, what asthma is, how our diaphragm works when we inhale and exhale, and how the voice is produced.
Heart and Blood covers the circulatory system, our pulse and blood pressure, how the heart works, all about blood, and even the fact that “an adult’s heart is about the size of a large apple.”
Illustration @ 2025 by Vanessa Robidou. Text © 2025 by Anne-Sophie Baumann. Courtesy of Twirl.
Seeing and Hearing contains information on the parts and working of the eyeball, vision issues, eye color, and more. The hearing section gives kids a look into the inner ear while also learning about sound frequency, earaches, balance, and hearing issues.
Smelling and Tasting talks about the mechanisms of smell, the inner nose, sneezing, the connection between the ear and the nose, the tongue, tasting, ear pain, and sore throats.
Biting and Chewing shows the development of teeth through various ages, and talks about parts of a tooth, cavities, braces, and caring for our teeth.
Eating and Drinking contains a wide range of topics and includes interactive elements that expose the workings of the urinary and digestive systems. Other topics include vitamins, foods, constipation, and appendicitis.
Illustration @ 2025 by Vanessa Robidou. Text © 2025 by Anne-Sophie Baumann. Courtesy of Twirl.
The Brain and the Nervous System is a comprehensive section that goes in-depth on how these intricate systems work and provides detailed illustrations on how the nerves run through the body as well as a pop-up, multilayered depiction of the brain that shows where in the brain our senses, memory, speech, and muscle control originate. You’ll find information on mysteries of the brain, brain disorders, and more.
Birth and Growing Up provides adults and children with a wealth of knowledge about the reproductive organs, how babies are made, how a sperm fertilizes an egg, the major stages of development from embryo to fetus by month, how twins develop, what a cell is, DNA, and highlights of growth and development from birth to adulthood.
Living Well discusses ways people can take care of themselves throughout their lives as well as disabilities, diabetes, Down syndrome, and the role of medical professionals, medications, inventions, and procedures that can help people live a better life.
Illustration @ 2025 by Vanessa Robidou. Text © 2025 by Anne-Sophie Baumann. Courtesy of Twirl.
Anne-Sophie Baumann engages her target audience of children ages 8 through 12 with intelligent writing that uses scientific terminology always followed up with an easily understood definition. She addresses her readers directly, drawing them into this extensive education on anatomy and physiology through discussions about the body’s makeup as well as by spotlighting particular issues of interest for her young readers, such as pimples and skin issues, changing voices, braces, and stages of growth and development.
Accompanying Baumann’s text are Vanessa Robidou‘s incredibly detailed, and in some cases life-sized illustrations. Through the wealth of interactive elements, Robidou invites children to peer inside bones; the ear, eye, and mouth; the skin; and the organs as well as to follow breath, food, blood, and even tears through their dedicated systems. Colorful and expressive, these illustration will wow kids as they support Baumann’s text in exciting ways that reinforce learning.
If you’re looking for a hands-on book about the workings of the human body to share with your child or student, The Ultimate Book of the Human Body is highly recommended and would make a fantastic gift for children interested in topics about anatomy and health.
Ages 8 – 12
Twirl, 2025 | ISBN 979-1027613649
About the Author
Anne-Sophie Baumann studied science and literature before becoming an editor and author. She lives hear Paris, France. You can find her on Instagram.
About the Illustrator
Vanessa Robidou‘s illustrations can be found in various media and in many children’s books. She lives in Rennes, France. You can see more of her work on Instagram.
Picture Book Month Activity
Dog Paw and Human Hand X-Ray Craft
X-rays are cool to look at, but they always stay at the doctor’s office! With this craft you can simulate X-rays of a dog’s paw and a human hand!
Supplies
- Printable skeleton templates: Human Hand Template | Dog Paw Template
- Black chalkboard drawing paper, 8 ½ inches by 11 inches
- White colored pencil
- White chalk
- Clear Plastic Report Sheet Protectors
Directions
- Print the Human Hand and Dog Paw Templates (you may want to print two—one to cut and one to follow when transferring the bones to the black paper)
- Cut the bones apart
- Lay the bones on the black chalkboard paper
- Trace the bones with the white colored pencil
- Color in the bones with the white chalk
- Slip the black paper into the plastic report sheet protector
You can purchase The Ultimate Book of the Human Body from these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Picture Book Review
celebratepicturebooks.com 