Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: HOW TO BUILD A HUMAN by Pamela S. Turner
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Amanda Bishop
HOW TO BUILD A HUMAN: IN SEVEN EVOLUTIONARY STEPS is an outstanding work of narrative nonfiction. As an anthropology major, and former instructor of biological anthropology, this is one of the best books I’ve read as an introduction to human evolution. There is something so simple, yet elegant, about how the information is presented in this book. I think it is a great introductory text for all those who need to know more about human evolution and humanity in general.
While this book is profoundly informative it is not without a sincere sense of humor. It takes a great talent to crack a joke about Star Wars in the middle of a discussion on the evolution of human language. This is most evident in the author’s use of footnotes. I think this is a great tool to encourage young readers to actually read the footnotes thereby teaching an essential reading skill. I particularly liked “Yes, fossilized skeletons can tell us something about ancient butts. Just another wonder of science” (pg. 37) Footnotes like these will get readers to wonder more about the topic and want to deepen their research.
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The biggest strength of this book is that the presentation of the information is styled exactly to younger readers. The language is familiar and new concepts are presented in ways that anyone can grasp. Turner uses clear examples to demonstrate the concepts introduced. Her repetition of the phrase “the environment tests and the environment selects” emphasizes the points she is trying to make throughout this book and keeps a thread that connects each evolutionary step.
In terms of Newbery criteria I think this book is most distinguished in terms of presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization as well as appropriateness of style. Turner sections the book into chapters that focus on what she characterizes as “Seven Evolutionary Steps” and the information contained within each chapter is succinct and well organized, as well as approachable to younger readers. It reads much like a textbook in terms of organization, but reads like narrative nonfiction in terms of ease and humor. The appropriateness of style is present throughout with the consistency in how Turner presents the information and ties it all together.
Overall, I think How to Build a Human is a solid choice for the Newbery Award this year and is a wonderful book to introduce children to the study of anthropology and human evolution.
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Please start with positive observations first; stick to positives until at least three comments have been posted or we reach 1:00 pm EST. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried retired from full-time library work a couple years ago and now works as a part-time Youth Librarian at the West Linn Public Library in Oregon. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
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I agree Amanda-The presentation of Information is outstanding and Newbery worthy. The chapters each have a particular focus on the evolution of the human species. The humor made such content interesting and accessible especially to a young researcher. I found myself fact-checking to see if the pizzly bear was a real hybrid of the grizzly bear and the polar bear! (It was.) I think the theme of survival is well done too. It almost is the predecessor to our modern day reality survival shows. The theme of what it means to be human is well documented also as Turner compares our brain to dolphins in many chapters and compares us to other species. That theme of what makes us human was also touched on in A Rover’s Story as Res experiences human emotions.
I like Kate’s comparison of the themes in HUMAN to those in A ROVER’S STORY. Finding commonalities between fiction and nonfiction titles is useful, though not always easy. From this year’s nonfiction books, I think looking at HUMAN and BUZZKILL by Brenna Maloney is interesting. Both use humor a lot and it’s mostly effective. I thought it came a little more naturally through BUZZKILL’s narrative. Though it plays a big part in the appeal of HUMAN, there were a few moments where it seems like there’s a conscious effort to insert a joke, and as Peter notes in another comment here, they have the potential to be distracting. HUMAN is more clearly aimed at a child reader than BUZZKILL, and I think it has great potential to hook a reader who might not otherwise read about this topic.
The other nonfiction comp that springs to mind is the excellent HOW TO MAKE A MOUNTAIN: IN JUST 9 SIMPLE STEPS AND ONLY 100 MILLION YEARS by Amy Huntington. Kind of a coincidence that two books in the same year take this similar approach: breaking down a huge science topic into steps. Both do it very well, and in different ways. I think the “steps” in HUMAN work even just a little better for building the reader’s knowledge at the right pace over the course of the book.
Amanda, thanks for the awesome introduction. I agree that this book is most distinguished in terms of presentation of information, appropriateness of style and interpretation of theme. I was drawn in immediately by Turner’s creative humorous approach to dividing evolution into seven steps: “We Stand Up, We Smash Rocks, We Get Swelled Heads…”, definitely relatable to kids.
This book has just the right balance of conveying lots of information without feeling too dense, and Turner adds further lightness through humor. If the reader wants more in-depth information, Turner gives forty pages of Author’s Notes, Timeline, Book/Website Resources, Bibliography, Sources Glossary and Index. HOW TO BUILD A HUMAN is definitely on the top of my pile to receive an award.
Rox Anne,
I agree–I like that it was informational, but also not a TOME. That can be so daunting–but it also often means the author got off theme, and in this one, the presentation of information and the thematic elements are what makes it shine.
This book was definitely informational and I agree with a lot of the points in your introduction, but I don’t feel I connected with this book very well, with all respect to the author and the committee. First off, the humor. It just didn’t work for me. It’s corny, even distracting at times. When jokes are told in footnotes, it really breaks up your reading flow, and maybe even breaks your trust as a reader. Why would I read the rest of the footnotes if they aren’t relevant?? I feel the author here makes a common mistake that just happens all the time—you don’t have to be funny to be interesting. It certainly helps, but being sincere and being engaging is just as important. Probably more important. So, not a fan of that.
Also, not the biggest fan of the format. This is broken up into some interesting chapters that will certainly grab the reader’s attention, BUT they often require information from previous chapters. So don’t think this would work as a resource or a browsing book, since you basically need to read it from beginning to end, not just the part that’s relevant to you. That’s fine and necessary for some nonfiction, but again these chapters are broken up so well, that I feel the author missed a trick by making sure that every chapter was self-contained as much as possible.
And then just the lack of pictures. There’s a good amount of drawings and photos here, but there were times the author would describe a fossil or skull or something very interesting without any reference, and I found myself having to look it up on my phone. Feel that some more visual aids might have helped my previous point about making this a better resource, and making this a book you can jump into at any moment.
Peter, I agree the illustrations weren’t what I wanted them to be. They could have really enhanced, and instead they just kind of existed. The hand ones were interesting at the end, as a tie-in and final tying of the story to now
I also just couldn’t connect. I picked this book up so many times and kept putting it down. I liked the humor at first and then found that I, like Peter, was distracted by it. I’d read and reread, and there was just. So. Much. Information. I felt like I wasn’t absorbing it, I was looking for the next joke.
Also not a fan of the illustrations. I needed more of them or better ones maybe?
I wanted to like it. The scientific evidence behind all of it is so important even just for those kids that simply ask “How do they know?”
Lastly, maybe it’s just me, and I am going to put this book in the hands of our fifth grade teachers to see, but I think it’s too challenging for 10-11 year olds.
But nothing but admiration from me for the author to tackle the subject matter.
I agree with Maura in terms of appropriateness for kids. It requires ALOT of reading stamina! I am not sure many students would finish the book as non-fiction reading at least in the ages I teach (K-5) is still a skill that is developing.
I wholeheartedly agree. I think the information was otherwise presented in a really approachable way for kids, but referencing SO many fossils and tools without accompanying illustrations was a detriment to the book as a whole. I was reading it in a situation where it was difficult for me to stop and look up pictures, and I can’t imagine how much more frustrating that would be for young readers.
I thought Brenna Maloney’s approach to the illustrations/information piece in BUZZKILL was fascinating. Instead of trying to provide visual support for all of the amazing animals and behaviors she describes, she gives readers 300+ pages of mostly text and assumes we’ll find images if we want them. In one of many examples, she describes the Lord Howe Island stick insect, then says:
They are a sight to behold. I’ll pause for a moment while you google it.
Got it? Good. I’m not wrong, am I? (p 294)
It keeps the readers’ focus on the storytelling and gives them the option of supporting it with visuals or not.
I’m not saying that HUMAN should have gone that way; the topics are very different. Just thought BUZZKILL’s approach was so intriguing…
I had the opposite experience. When I first started reading I didn’t like the footnotes. I didn’t understand what she was doing and was thrown off by the humor. But the more I read the book and got to know her voice (and I think the authorial voice is very strong in this one!) the more I appreciated the humor. My favorite was the Lord of the Rings references. 🙂
Amanda, thank you for the excellent introduction! I don’t have your science background, but I completely agree that “In terms of Newbery criteria…this book is most distinguished in terms of presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization as well as appropriateness of style.” A reader can tell right off the bat, looking at the table of contents, that this book has a sense of humor as well (and for what it’s worth, I liked the footnotes. They are mostly humorous or extra, so if it’s not to the reader’s sense of humor, they can just skip them and not be missing much).
As Amanda also mentions, the way that the author uses repetition is helpful for readers who are being presented with a lot of (possibly) new information at once. Repetition also highlights important themes: about environment, evolution, natural selection; about “moving and mixing” (104); and the importance of communication and storytelling. I also appreciated the way that Turner firmly explained how a scientific theory is different from the way that people use the word “theory” in non-scientific contexts, and also how she addressed race in the author’s note: “race is a cultural concept, not a biological reality” (124).
I thought the visuals were excellent, particularly the maps, and the photographs of artifacts and the artists’ renderings, although for Newbery criteria we should be focusing on the text.
Early on, Turner writes, “If evolution had a motto, it would be Yeah. Good enough” (14). Fortunately for readers, Turner sets and clears a much higher bar than just “good enough.” A strong contender for sure.
In addition to being very well written, fascinating, and age appropriate, it is also important. Way too many people are ardently anti-science, and this book covers one of the hot button topics that these folks strongly deny. We have patrons who try to hide our children’s books on evolution! This book is so clear, so visually attractive (I loved the drawings though I agree there could have been more), and tells the reader HOW we know what we know about human development. This book meets an important need and is timely.
I agree that it is important and timely! One thing I often focused on when teaching science to upper elementary age students was the evidence needed to support a claim. Turner supports each of the steps with clearly articulated evidence that builds with each step.
I have taught many writing lessons to 4th graders on how to organize a non fiction text, how to write headings that draw in a reader, and how to use voice in non fiction. This book has it all and will definitely make a great mentor text for writers of non fiction. That being said, I think I would need to scaffold the reading of this book for upper elementary students. While the information is presented well, there is quite a bit of it. I am not sure how much that matters when considering a non fiction book for a Newbery medal, just thinking how I would use the text with our students.
This is a book I have struggled to connect with. And I like juvenile nonfiction that reads well. A LOT. But this book, I could not see myself recommending it to patrons. I was bored by it.
This is where I struggle with biases. Because if I struggle with something on a personal life (such as finding the good qualities in this), how can I be objective? That is something I want to improve on.
Good questions. It can be really hard to separate ourselves personally from books. And sometimes our personal opinions can help. I always try to return to the criteria and also to really listen to whatever people are saying and that can help me look at a book in a different light.
Personally I didn’t like How to Build a human. I felt this book was a bit too biased and one sided. I think there are three main views on how humans came to be. 1. evolution coming from nothing a big bang then it starts 2 .creationism being created by an intelligent God in seven literal days 3. a mix of both we were created by evolution but God started it we didn’t come from a big bang. Personally it’s easier for me to believe in the second and third viewpoints though I lean towards the second creationism. This book seems to be from the first viewpoint not even mentioning other options. That’s why I don’t think it’s a good book if you want a well rounded view on early humans and how we came to be. That being said this book was written for kids and I think it fits that demographic well. With the style and pop culture references I think this book would appeal to kids. It does a good job explaining evolution and if you don’t believe in God and think we came from nothing them it’s a great book. As a christian though I know there is more and nothing in this book was able to change my viewpoint or convince me evolution with no God is true. I even find it hard to believe evolution with God is true though if given the right evidence I am open to that as an option. I am not a scientist or expert but I did not find this book convincing.