Dem Bones

By Bob Barner

“No bones about it, this will be a real boost for those looking to inject a little humor and fun into basic facts about the human body.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
Shoulder bone connected to da neck bone
Neck bone connected to da head bone . . .
 
Colorful torn paper collages bring to life this familiar African American spiritual as frolicking, instrument-playing skeletons—accompanied by interesting, informative “bone facts”—entertain and educate young readers. At Halloween or all year round, at home or in the classroom, Dem Bones is a “clever anatomy lesson . . . geared for tickling the funny bones of the early elementary set” (Publishers Weekly).
 
“A snappy introduction to the human skeleton . . . The artwork makes this an inviting picture book to read aloud in primary-grade classrooms.” —Booklist
 
“A book that entertains and educates this age group and gets them tapping their toe bones, too. Bravo.” —Family Life

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452104096

Bob Barner

Bob Barner has written and illustrated more than 25 books. When not creating books, he likes to present his work at schools and libraries around the world. He lives in San Francisco.

Book preview

Reviews for Dem Bones

[marybethlingner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“Dem Bones” was an excellent book that I enjoyed very much. First, I liked the book because it described the bones in our bodies according to the “Dem Bones” song. An example of this would be on the first page where the song starts off with the lines, “Toe bone connected to da foot bone.” The book then describes what the foot bone is in a detailed, but understandable way. On the next page the song continues by saying, “Foot bone connected to da ankle bone” and then there are lines describing the purpose of the ankle bone. The entire book follows this same pattern, which I think is a very clear way to organize the book and a great way to keep reader’s attention. I also really like how the book is not just a visual depiction of the “Dem Bones” song, but actually described how bones work and what they enable people to do. This made me feel like I was actually learning something about my bones, instead of singing along to a song that I didn’t really understand. Lastly, I liked that on every page there was a skeleton showing readers the bone on his body that was being described. For example, seeing the knee bone highlighted on the skeleton gave me a better understanding of how my own knee bone enables me to kick, jump, squat, and dance. I think the illustrations really heightened my understanding of how all my bones have a purpose and give me the ability to do certain things. I believe the main idea of “Dem Bones” is to teach people about how their bones are connected and the ways in which their bones work. I believe the author used a song to teach about bones because people always remember things more efficiently when they learn in a fun and rhythmic way.