Hearing

From Elephant ears to the first sound a human baby hears, this vibrant book reveals the variety of ways animals hear. Readers find out how fish hear, what echolocation means, and dozens of other important facts as they compare their ears to those of other creatures.

Cole's lively text, with examples drawn from daily life, presents some quite complicated scientific information about how the five senses work. Line-and-watercolor cartoons add to the fun even as they help explain the physiology. There are simple diagrams of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue, and explanations about how nerves “like wires” carry messages to the brain. Experiments encourage kids to “try this” and discover, for example, how the sense of taste gets a lot of help from the sense of smell. Words like molecules are no longer intimidating when they describe how the smell of pizza enters your nostrils. [Hazel Rochman. From Booklist.]

Examines the anatomy of the ear, how the ear receives sounds and transfers them to the brain, how to protect our hearing, and current developments in hearing aids and surgery.

When Ms. Frizzle drives away from school before receiving an important message, Mr. Wilde, the new assistant principal, hops behind the wheel of the Magic School Bus to catch her. The class jumps aboard, too, knowing full well that only the Friz can handle the bus. When Mr. Wilde flips a mysterious switch, the vehicle shrinks and lands in a police officer's eye, then a child's ear, a dog's nose, and, finally, Ms. Frizzle's mouth as she eats pizza with her mother (“We'd been chewed out by teachers before, but this was ridiculous”). The format is comfortably familiar with text boxes and dialogue balloons complementing the story. Degen's illustrations are just as exciting and exacting as usual. Another fun, fact-filled adventure in the series. [Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, NY. School Library Journal, 1999.]

A confident, engaging child shares her experience with receiving cochlear impacts and hearing all kinds of new sounds. Informative and fun for children both with and without hearing impairment.

Great descriptions of how sound works, how people and animals hear, the role of hearing in human life, living with hearing loss, and how to protect hearing. Includes fun facts, glossary, index, resource list, colorful photographs, and timeline.

Informative content and full-color photos explain the complexities of hearing in an understandable way. The process by which the ears receive sound waves and send nerve signals to the brain is described in clear, concise, and appealing text.

Demonstrates the principles of sound and the science of acoustics through a variety of experiments.