How Do I Know If I’m Upside Down

How Do I Know If I’m Upside Down (And other things my body knows) by Idan Ben-Barak and Zahra Zainal (Scholastic Australia) HB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9781761121371

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Our bodies are amazing things when we think about it. How do they do what they do? How do we know where are arms are? Why do we feel pain if we touch something hot? Why do we get dizzy if we spin around and around and around?

As we grow, we take a lot of these things for granted – they just happen. It’s something to do with our brains sending and receiving messages, but how does it really work?

There are so many questions!

Up until now, the answers have seemed too technical, too medical and certainly too confusing to be able to explain to a child (or an adult without medical background) but this delightful and insightful book by Idan Ben-Barak and Zahra Zainal is going to solve this issue.

Written for children aged between four and eight, How Do I Know If I’m Upside Down (And other things my body knows) answers all those tricky questions young children like to ask about their bodies in a way that is accessible and satisfying.

It all starts with the nerves that are found everywhere in our bodies.

As children read through the book, they’ll discover that when air waves enter our ears, they move the tiny hairs there – which is how we hear. Then they’ll find out that the nerves in our skin can tell whether something is soft or hard, and the nerves in our muscles can tell if we’re relaxed or holding something heavy.

If that’s not enough – readers can also find out about things other bodies (like those belonging to different animals) know.

With easy-to-understand text, and colourful, detailed illustrations, How Do I Know If I’m Upside Down (And other things my body knows) will answer all our questions – and probably inspire more. (Gee … I hope there’s a sequel to this book!)