Synopsis: This book xplores everyday life through the centuries – but not as you’ve ever seen it before! The text traces the history of medicine from the Stone Age to the present day. It includes topics such as,  'how do you fancy a hole in the skull as a headache cure?'

Review: Young scientists get a real taste of the story behind the medicine as we examine the amazing practices used in medicine past and present. Readers will learn about the often painful and frequently distasteful medical practices that our ancestors employed such as using leeches, eating snail shells or body snatching, as well as those that are still used around the world today - who needs an anaesthetic anyway?! The book includes alternative therapies and major medical discoveries that changed the face of medical practice. For example: ·

• Would you believe…A sockful of roast potatoes was thought to cure the common cold
• Would you believe…Mud from the Nile eased stomach complaints 

Some of the other titles in the series by Richard Platt include: · Would you believe…marzipan contains cyanide?! · Would you believe…the losers were killed in Mayan football?! · Would you believe…in 1500 platform shoes were outlawed?!

These books would prove to be a valuable resource in the classroom . The are engaging and informative and might also be used when teaching study skills, perhaps as part of a guided read session.  The books are presented with a comprehensive structural guiders and retireval devices such as contents list, introduction page, page numbers and glossary. 

The text is not too difficult to understand. There are a mixture of photographs, pictures and labelled diagrams. The photographs are bright and colourful and give alot of information. This book can therefore might be appropriately used with the SEN and EAL children to generate discussion and thus support the development of language.

2008-06-05