This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
When I was a science teacher, I was always on the lookout for narrative stories that revolve around science. Our brains are wired to learn from stories, after all, so I was always astounded by the scarcity of good science-y stories. I used to go to bookstores and walk up and down the aisles of the children's section looking for the science bookshelf. There, I'd find really dull, dumbed down books about how the weather works and on the next shelf, a huge picture book about animals or space that is mostly blown up photos with tiny captions, and exceedingly little to link all these facts and concepts together.
I even had a wild hair to write my own science narrative stories, but there is one thing I'm not good at writing, and that's fiction. It all ends up sounding like this:
"How is your day going?" the bacterium inquired."Oh, it's fine," said the amoeba. "Thanks for asking. I'm going to eat you now."
The end.
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Yeah, it's awful. So I was very glad when I heard about the Survive! Inside the Human Body series by Gomdori Co. and Hyun-dong Han.
It's an graphic novel-style adventure story that takes place inside the human body, for ages 8 and over. I'm significantly older than 8 (as you might have guessed), and I got a big kick out of it. The basic premise reminds me of Innerspace, which I haven't seen in years, but also has a tiny ship that travels through the human body, in this instance Martin Short's... for reasons I can't remember.
The first volume covers the digestive system, and the sequels go on to cover the circulatory and nervous systems.
Scientific information embedded in a deeply engaging story with fun characters and beautiful artwork, all wrapped together with silliness and humor, these books are perfect for a budding scientist who loves comics, or an adult who wants a fun read on the metro ride to work. You can buy it from No Starch Press and can find it on amazon.
