Why Do We Laugh? Questions Children Ask About the Human Body

In this charming read, Terry Martin addresses the inquiries of young children as to why their and their friends' bodies do different things. On each page, several related questions are presented and answered in terms that a young child could understand, or at least be easily be explained. For example, the first page has "Why do we laugh?" at the top of the page. a brief but anatomically accurate answer is given, then on the same page the questions, "Why do I cry?" and "Why am I ticklish?" are also given. The format gives a child an easy time reading this book, as the text is large, bold, and surrounded by photographs of other children doing things relative to the questions on that page. These children are very diverse as well, with show more representations from diverse genders and races, even a question answered about "Why do people have different-colored skin?"
I put parent in the tags because some parents either might not know these answers to questions frequently asked by children, or may not know how to put it in terms their children could understand. Furthermore, whether intentional or not, this could even be read as a night time book because the last question is "Why do I have to go to bed?". show less

This book provides scientific answers to questions that young children often ask. Most questions are related to biological processes, like why do we laugh or why do I need to brush my teeth. I think this is a great book to share with small children who often ask questions.

The book WHY DO WE LAUGH? contains limited information about the human body. However, it does answer many of the human body questions that children are interested in knowing. Each page explores a different body question from “Why do I get hungry?” to “Why do I lose my baby teeth?” Children will love looking at the different photographs. The straight to the point writing helps to keep children’s focus. This book is an edited book with contributing researchers and doctors to help make the information accurate. This book is organized in a very repetitive fashion which helps give children confidence when reading the story. The access features also help the reader navigate through the pages. Though an adult would find this book show more lacking in information, it is very interesting for a child to read. This book helps answer a lot of “Why?” questions that kids have. show less

This book presents questions a curious child may ask. Why do we laugh? Why am I ticklish? Why do I have freckles? Children can cure their curiosity with the answers in this book, and adults may find it easier to explain with this resource.

While the answers seem age appropriate, they would require some background knowledge. For instance, "Why is my hair curly?" The answers mentions follicles, and describes them as tiny holes. I feel the answers are extremely broad. A keyhole is tiny, while a hair follicle is nearly microscopic. A student may have difficulty grasping the ideas used in the answers to the questions.

A very helpful and informative book about how our bodies work and why they behave the way they do. Written in easy-to-understand language this book is a perfect resource for many questions a child may have about their body. Good for teachers and parents alike, children can really learn a lot from this book.

This is a good choice for parents too. Parents can learn how to answer some of the questions every kid wants to know. All those questions start with "WHY"...Why do we laugh?, Why do I get hungry?, Why do I lose my baby teeth?, Why should I wear sunscreen?, Why do I have eye lashes?, Why does my heart beat faster when I run?, Why are there twins? and Why do I have to go to bed? and much more. I leaned a thing or two when reading this book and I am now prepared to answer all those lovely question children come up with. Good read for grades k-3.

This was a book full of questions many young children ask. Young readers will have fun looking through the questions and finding out the answers. This would be a great book to leave around for when students have free time.