An important part of growing up is learning about bodies. As kids start to figure out things like what body parts do and where babies come from, these picture books about the body will come in handy. The books on this list cover everything from bones to knees to hearts and DNA. Happy reading!
📚 Disclaimer in the books: Just so you know, Reading Middle Grade uses affiliate links. This means that when you shop via the links in our posts, we may earn a cent or two at no extra cost to you. Thanks for adding to our book buying fund.
Educational Picture Books About the Body
Here are some of the best picture books about the human body:
Give Me Back My Bones
Published: July 16, 2019
Cast a spyglass ’round here
while breakers curl and pound here.
There’s treasure to be found here —
I feel it in my bones!
A stormy night at sea has uncovered some long-buried secrets and surprises. Is that the mast of a shipwreck? A faded pirate hat? And what’s that hiding in the sand? A mandible and a clavicle, phalanges and femurs, a tibia and a fibula — could there be a set of bones scattered across the ocean floor? And who might they belong to? A jaunty rhyme takes readers on an underwater scavenger hunt as a comical skeleton tries to put itself back together piece by piece. Make no bones about
Cardiology for Babies
Published: August 28, 2020
Written by a doctor, Cardiology for Babies offers a perfect introduction to the wonders of the human body. This interactive board book teaches little ones about the heart, one of the body’s most vital organs, and the role it plays in maintaining life.
Through words and pictures, this book for children captures the imagination, stimulates curiosity, and facilitates a love for science in the next generation.
Baby Biochemist: DNA
Published: August 1, 2020
Introduce your budding genius to their body’s ultimate messenger: DNA! Through simple, colorful illustrations and adorable characters, kids will learn all about how these amazing, twisty molecules give instructions to our cells and keep our bodies running smoothly. Packed with great information and scientific fun, the fantastic feats of DNA will keep any curious kid turning page after page!
Me and My Amazing Body
Published: September 18, 2018
What is under your skin? Why do you have bones? What do your muscles do? Where does the food that you eat go?
Me and My Amazing Body can show you! From your head to your toes and everything in between, this playful introduction to anatomy explains all the important parts of your body. Easy to read and easy to understand, Me and My Amazing Body helps children appreciate everything their bodies can do.
Dem Bones
Published: September 1, 1996
Sing along with a colorful skeleton band in this exuberant rendition of a traditional most-loved African-American spiritual, passed down by word of mouth for generations. Today, it’s usually sung by children as a way to learn anatomy, rhyme, and language. With its vibrant paper collage illustrations and rollicking read-aloud verse, this perfect introduction to the human body makes a wonderful addition to both home and classroom libraries, and is a fun treat for Halloween!
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain
Published: December 13, 2010
Educator and psychologist Dr. JoAnn Deak offers a fun and engaging introduction to the anatomy and functions of the brain that will empower each young reader to S-T-R-E-T-C-H and grow their fantastic, elastic brain!
Looking for award-winning picture books for curious kids? Your Fantastic Elastic Brain is the perfect fit. Dr. Deak shares information in ways that are accessible for parents, teachers, and children alike. Delightful illustrations with accurate details foster motivation to learn and grow in new ways. This book is an excellent companion to Beautiful Oops, The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes, I Can’t Do That YET, The Most Magnificent Thing, and Bubble Gum Brain.
From Chewing to Pooing
Published: June 4, 2019
“What happens to food when you’re done chewing?”Children’s picture book “From Chewing to Pooing: Food’s Journey Through Your Body to the Potty” answers this question in simple rhyme with playful illustration, making the complex process of digestion accessible for little ones.While most children are eager to learn about their bodies, understanding this particular function is especially reassuring for those who are anxious about going poo. A back section for caregivers, by pediatrician Natalie Gehringer MD., provides simple ways to support healthy digestion. “From Chewing to Pooing” is both a fun way to introduce young learners to human biology and a tool to help reduce bathroom anxiety. Lauded as “an essential book in a preschool program” by Preschool Director, Yasmeen Kamrani and “my son’s favorite book. We read it before bed every night” by NYT best-selling author and gastroenterologist, Will Bulsiewicz MD MSCI, “From Chewing to Pooing” has been embraced by educators, medical professionals, parents and most importantly, children.
Bodies Are Cool
Published: June 1, 2021
From the acclaimed creator of Dancing at the Pity Party and Roaring Softly, this picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill body acceptance and confidence in the youngest of readers. “My body, your body, every different kind of body! All of them are good bodies! BODIES ARE COOL!”
Whose Knees Are These?
Published: March 5, 2019
I’ve searched the world and seven seas. Never have I seen such charming knees.
Snuggle with a child on your lap with this companion title to the popular board book Whose Toes Are Those?. With lush, adorable pictures from New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham, reminiscent of the beloved work of Ezra Jack Keats, this interactive rhyme full of toddler appeal is a perfect baby gift for parent-child playtime.
Little Explorers: My Amazing Body
Published: April 7, 2015
MY AMAZING BODY is a lively introduction to the human body, where children can lift the flaps to find out what goes on under their skin. Young readers will be amazed as they find out how the brain works, what happens to a mouthful of food, how fast our fingernails grow, how we breathe, and much, much more. This book features over 60 sturdy flaps to lift, along with charming, kid-friendly artwork that introduces new concepts and vocabulary in a simple and accessible way.
Shine-A-Light: The Human Body
Published: January 1, 2016
Discover the secrets of the human body with the newest beautiful, educational, and fun title in the Shine-A-Light series. Hold a light behind the pages to see muscles flex, watch as food travels through the digestive system, and take a peek at the skeleton holding you upright.
Look Inside Your Body
Published: January 1, 2014
Children can peek under the flaps to reveal facts about the human body while reading about it as well.
Inside your Outside: All About the Human Body
Published: August 26, 2003
Join the Cat in the Hat, Sally and Dick for a ride through the human body where they visit the right and left sides of the brain, meet the Feletons from far off Fadin (when they stand in the sun you can see through their skin), scuba dive through the blood system, follow food and water through the digestive tract, and a whole lot more! Perfect for readers who are curious about the body and for any kid who loves learning and science.
What Makes a Baby
Published: May 7, 2013
Geared to readers from preschool to age eight, What Makes a Baby is a book for every kind of family and every kind of kid. It is a twenty-first century children’s picture book about conception, gestation, and birth, which reflects the reality of our modern time by being inclusive of all kinds of kids, adults, and families, regardless of how many people were involved, their orientation, gender and other identity, or family composition. Just as important, the story doesn’t gender people or body parts, so most parents and families will find that it leaves room for them to educate their child without having to erase their own experience.
Frankenstein
Published: August 1, 2014
BabyLit® is a fashionable way to introduce your toddler to the world of classic literature. With clever, simple text by Jennifer Adams, paired with stylish design and illustrations by Sugar’s Alison Oliver, these books are a must for every savvy parent’s nursery library.
JENNIFER ADAMS is the author of more than 30 books, including board books in the best-selling BabyLit series which introduce young children to the world of classic literature. Jennifer works as a writer and editor in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit her website at jennifer-adams.com.
Alison Oliver runs Sugar design studio. Alison’s design portfolio includes everything from logos to packaging and product design for clients such as Chronicle Books, Citibabes, and Aerie, as well as Gibbs Smith. She lives in New York.
See Inside Your Body
Published: January 1, 2006
This astonishingly inventive title allows young children to discover the inner workings of the human body in a gently humorous, yet wholly accurate way. Bright, original colour illustrations and diagrams display all the major organs of the human body and are accompanied by witty, clear and informative factual text. It contains over fifty flaps, which children can lift to reveal extra detail. Entertaining and authoritative, this is human biology for children at its very best – a book both educational and enjoyable.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
Published: October 1, 2008
This is a gorgeously simple picture book for very young children, and once you finish the rhythmic, rhyming text, all you’ll want to do is go back to the beginning . . . and read it again!
The luminous watercolor illustrations of these roly-poly little ones from a variety of backgrounds are adorable, quirky, and true to life, right down to the wrinkles, dimples, and pudges in their completely squishable arms, legs, and tummies.
As everyone knows, nothing is sweeter than stubby baby fingers and chubby baby toes. This is a counting book for little ones and the grown-ups around them to share and chant along to.
Belly Button Book
Published: April 18, 2005
Soon after dark, upon the beach, we sing a hippo song, and if you’re feeling in the mood, we hope you’ll sing along: “Belly Belly Button, you’re oh so fine. Ooo, Belly Button, I’m so happy you’re mine.”
Shiny and sturdy, and featuring a great (navel-shaped, naturally) die-cut cover, the Belly Button Book provides enduring, giggly, read-aloud fun.
Oversized lap edition also available—perfect for more reading aloud!
Open Wide: Tooth School Inside
Published: May 1, 2000
“Before the principal’s announcements, will you all please stand and recite our pledge: ‘I pledge allegiance to this mouth and to the dentist who takes care of us. And to the gums on which we stand, strong and healthy, with toothbrushes and toothpaste for all.'”
It’s time for tooth school and Dr. Flossman is excited to meet the incoming class of 32–eight incisors, four canines, eight premolars, and twelve molars, including the four wisdom teeth. There’s just so much to learn–from brushing and flossing to dentin and pulp to every student’s nightmare: tooth decay!
The Nose Book by Al Perkins
Published: June 24, 2003
“I see a nose on every face. I see noses every place!” Noses come in all shapes, colors, and sizes and are handy to have for sniffling, smelling, and . . . playing horns? This simple, sometimes silly story offers little ones a first ode to the nose and all that it does.
There they are: 20 of the best picture books about the body. Which one of these have you read? What did I miss?
Pin This Post – Picture Books About the Body
What do you think? Leave a comment