Last week the Piwi kids and I reviewed the first title in the Human Body Detective (HBD) Series by Dr Heather Manley. The main characters are young sisters, Merinn and Pearl, ie. Human Body Detectives. They show kids 6-12 year olds how their bodies work, and how they can stay healthy with good choices in nutrition and exercise. In addition to the app, they also have a website and curriculum go with the apps. We will have a review of the immune system curriculum posted soon.
Today we are sharing the second title, Battle with the Bugs. After reading, we did a ‘Sneeze test’ to extend the fun with reading the app.
This time Merrin and Pearl are looking forward to a vacation with their cousins. They have lots of fun planned until their little cousin Max gets a cold. It is up to the sisters and Max’s big brother to find out what they can do to help.
The Immune system is the focus of this title. The illustrations are fun and colorful. The White blood cells and germs are portrayed as little creatures involved in a battle of Good versus Bad. The characters even get to catch a ride with a White blood cell heading to the area of infection.
Readers will learn:
- How we can prevent sickness by god hygiene.
- Why we feel so bad when we do get sick. (we see Max’s body using a fever to kill off some of the germs).
- How we can help our body fight off germs by eating healthier.
- There are other fun features included with the story app. The glossary and colored diagram of the immune system were a good reference tool. We also enjoyed the fun and colorful sections on healthy eating.
My 7-year-old enjoyed the exciting storyline and the gross parts. She said that her favorite part was when the kids were riding their new White blood cell friend. Battle with the bugs isn’t quite as ‘icky’ as ‘the Lucky escape’ so our preschooler wasn’t as interested as she was with the the ‘poop’ book. However it is definately a great parental tool to explain why we ‘make them’ wash their hands ‘again!’ It also reassured our older daughter that a fever wasn’t neccesarily something to be scared about.
To learn more about how germs can be spread we conducted a ‘Sneeze test’ demonstration.
Materials: baby powder container and dark-colored paper/card to cover the area where you are working
I explained that the powder container would represent our mouth as we sneeze. After shaking the container up, I opened the top. While holding it on its side I gave it a sharp squeeze. The kids were surprised how far the powder reached.
We repeated the procedure again but this time as I squeezed DD7 hold her hand in front of the opening. This time most of the powder ended up on her hand.
Without offering a towel I asked my daughter to get her pencil and the crayons. By the time she returned to the table she realised that there was powder all over the place.
The kids thought it was hilarious until I explained that if that has been a real sneeze the germs would have spread just as well as the powder. At that point there was a rush to wash off the ‘powder germs’.
Battle with the Bug works on iPhone, iPod and iPAD. It is $1.99 on App Store. There is a HD version that only works on iPAD, which is $2.99. The App Store link below leads to the one of $1.99.
If you would like to check it out or purchase it, please use the App Store link provided below. The cost is the same to you, but iGameMom gets a small percentage. Thanks for your support! Note: The link works for all countries.
It is also available on Kindle for $2.99. You can check out Battle With the Bugs for Kindle
If you prefer a print book, you can check out Battle with the Bugs on Amazon
Today’s app is reviewed by JJ (Piwi mama), a proud wife and mama of two girls. The family travel with her hubby’s work so most of her time is spent teaching her kids. In her spare time, JJ blogs about their portable learning and reviews books. You can read about their travels at Learning and Growing the Piwi way
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This looks like a pretty interesting series, I will have to check it out. Thanks for the great review. The sneeze test sounds like something worth trying at home.
It is hard to find books talking about science with kids at kids level. This series does a good job.