Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow?: Curious Questions Kids Ask About the Human Body

Great book for an opener in a science class or kids class at school. Some neat trivia about the body. Used it for a bell ringer for my health class.

After reading it, I can say that I've learned many things that I ignored, or had misconceptions about. I do recommend it for fun reading. The writing is very concise, but I am a bit disappointed with the lack of detail. I think a little more elaboration might have given it a better cachet. Still deserves a 4-star for the themes that it explores and explains with straight-forward answers.

I got this book for a couple of little girls, age 6, because it got such rave reviews. While it does have great information, I was disappointed to find that it has no illustrations, just straight text. It would be so much more fun for kids if it did have at least little sketches to illustrate the information, especially since some of the answers are a bit technical for younger ones.

I purchased this book for myself, and I am a grandmother. It has great answers for things you might question. It is just a fun book.

Great for kids

With the aid of daughters Andrea and Julia, Beth Ann Ditkoff, M. D. has created an informal guide to the human body. Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow? is filled with fun trivia and those sensitive questions children like to ask while grownups flounder around for answers. Even if we know the answers, as parents we sometimes have trouble forming that knowledge into a coherent response. Thanks to Ditkoff, it's all compiled within the pages of this handy book for easy reference. The book is divided into four main sections, with an additional section for Bonus Body Trivia. "Your Body 101" leads the reader through basic facts, like why humans have earwax and what an Adam's Apple is. In "The Weird, The Ugly and the Downright Gross" Ditkoff tackles yuckier topics like nose hair, warts, and dandruff. "Body Afflictions and Everyday Strange Things That Can Happen" covers the many strange responses the human body has to external stimuli. "Urban Myth and What If?" is greatly comprised of adages you likely heard from your mother at some point. Readers can find out if it really is bad to crack your knuckles or if you'll actually see better if you eat carrots. This can be an invaluable section for children because it will reveal if your parents are really putting you on about swallowing your gum or drinking 8 glasses of water per day. The truth is revealed! The bonus trivia section seems dispensable. It contains only a sampling of questions compared to the first four sections. These are questions that could have been easily categorized within the earlier sections. Almost every topic has a single dedicated page. Each one is referenced individually in the table of contents for retrieval. The writing is quite scientific at times and might have to be reworded for younger children, but the questions are certainly familiar. Even adult readers have probably wondered about a few of them now and then. Ditkoff relates in the introduction how many of her own patients, as well as friends and family, frequently ask her questions similar to those in her book. Most of us go through life without fully understanding the mechanics of our bodies. Why Don't Your Eyelashes Grow? is a great way to familiarize ourselves with the complicated organic machines we rely on every day. Then when those curious inquisitors we know as our children stump us with new queries, we just might be able to dig up a meritable explanation.

My third grader says: I never knew the answers to half of these questions! And I never even thought of some of the questions. This book is fun and educational. The answers are very specific and scientific. I highly recommend it.

Love this book! It is informative and entertaining. I truly enjoyed reading with my children. They were intrigued and wanted to know all the answers. It answered many of the questions they have asked in the past. I highly recommend it to all families.