Reviewed by Dianne Bates
How do you explain the appearance and workings of the
brain to a small child? Ben- Barak, in this picture book for children aged 5 to
8 years, likens the brain’s size to that of a pineapple, and its texture that
of goo that looks like a big walnut (but gooey). Accompanied by cartoon
illustrations of the brain’s owner, a small girl wearing a helmet and doing
things like riding a scooter and walking a pineapple, the text continues… It
explains ‘I’m made of hundreds of billions of cells. They’re all connected.
They send signals to each other.’ Saying it’s ‘very complicated’, the
text states ‘I’m the part of you that is YOU.’
In the middle of the book is what looks like four scoops of ice-cream made of orange, blue, and pink colours (representing the brain). Surrounding it are dozens of words and phrases pertaining to the brain, such as ‘Emotions’, ‘Sibling Annoyance Centre’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Growing,’ and ‘Thoughts.’
There is more information on the workings of the brain, including how it can
sometimes get confused, distracted, or overwhelmed. The text continues: ‘Look, I’m
not a computer. Nobody planned me. Nobody built me. It took me many millions of
years to become what I am.’ It proceeds with what the brain is capable of,
such as teaching the lungs to breathe, the legs to walk, and so on. None of
what the brain can do, it says ‘doesn’t happen with pineapples.’
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