Measuring ME!

‘My body is amazing. Just look at some of the reasons why!’

Children are drawn to books about the human body and Measuring ME! will be no exception. It’s bright, full of energy, and really catches the eye. Numbers can fascinate young readers, too, but larger quantities bring their own challenges, and if we want children to engage with them in any meaningful way, they usually need some help. Nicola Kent takes a step in the right direction with the real-world measuring activity on the cover. ‘I’m as tall as ten tin cans,’ announces the girl on the first spread, and this familiar and undeniably concrete unit of measurement also features on a delightful height chart included with the book.

That’s as far as it goes for the cans, though and the spreads that follow take other approaches to exploring the numerical wonders of the body, with varying degrees of impact and success. The child powering a light bulb is an arresting illustration of an intriguing idea, but the depiction of a boy’s weight in toys scattered across a spread seems design-focused in a way that makes the conceptual comparison more challenging. At times, concrete examples are abandoned altogether, and statements about large numbers are allowed to stand alone, such as the 50,000 scents detectable by our noses and the 97 billion nerve cells in our bodies, along with similar information about our genes, sweat pores and tendons. These facts and figures refer to an average Western five-year-old, and the characters and toys that are pictured also appeal to this age group, so younger readers appear to be the target audience. But the numerical statements about complex topics feel more suited to an older audience, so there’s a degree of dissonance in this respect.

Nicola Kent won the Independent Bookseller’s Best New Illustrator Award in 2019, and has been shortlisted in both the World Illustration Awards and the Teach Primary Book Awards. Her artwork for Measuring ME! is lively, bold and appealing, with sunshine yellow, bright blue and white backgrounds creating visual drama and contrast, and a variety of page compositions and layouts. The children depicted are diverse: one uses a walking aid, for example, and the girl on the cover has a tracheostomy to aid her breathing. Kent has a tracheostomy herself, and knows how vital it is for children with physical differences to find themselves represented incidentally ‘as part of the rainbow of humanity’ in books and other media. It’s particularly welcome to see a book about the wonders of the human body quietly taking this approach.

Measuring ME! doesn’t deliver all it promises on the numerical front, but there is plenty here to intrigue and entertain young audiences. Given the ongoing need for vibrant and appealing STEM books for younger readers, it will find a welcome place on bookshelves, and will prompt lively discussions and activities at home and in school.