Children's Treasury Library

A living science book ~

What a difference it can make when scientific details are presented in a lively narrative - as opposed to a dry account of consecutive facts in a textbook.

Following is a refreshing excerpt from Why You Feel Hot, Why You Feel Cold: Your Body's Temperature, by James Berry. Since we were designed to thrive on story and well-written stories create vivid pictures in our mind, it is easy to see how effortless retention can be!


"You have seen fast-burning fires and slow-burning fires.
A lighted birthday candle is an example of a fast-burning fire. It gives off heat. It also gives off light.
Hot charcoal over which a hamburg or a hot dog is cooking is an example of a slow-burning fire. It gives off heat, but the charcoal burns too slowly to give off much light or flame.
There are fires that burn much more slowly than charcoal - so slowly, in fact, that they give off only a tiny bit of heat and no light at all. One example of such a slow-burning fire is inside you.
Your muscles, skin, and the organs inside you are made up of tiny parts called cells. There are many millions of cells in your body, and inside each cell there is a small fire that burns night and day and gives off a tiny bit of heat. It is the heat from all these fires added together that makes you warm."