Lizzy Rockwell - The Busy Body Book. A Kids Guide to Fitness

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

Copyright 2004 by Lizzy Rockwell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First ebook edition published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Originally published in hardcover by Crown Publishers, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York in 2004.
Crown, Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

randomhouse.com/kids

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rockwell, Lizzy.
The busy body book / written and illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell.
p. cm.
SUMMARY : An introduction to the human body, how it functions, and its need for exercise.
ISBN 978-0-553-11374-7 (trade)
ISBN 978-0-375-82203-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-375-92203-9 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-307-79342-3 (ebook)
1. Body, HumanJuvenile literature. 2. ExerciseJuvenile literature. [1. Body, Human. 2. Exercise.] I. Title.
QP37.R653 2003
612dc21 2002029914

v3.1

For Ken, Nicholas, and Nigel

Thanks to Annie, Alana, Sasha, Frankie, Ned, Nick, Nigel, Christopher, and Kara, for their help as advisors, assistants, or models. Thanks to my editor, Nancy Siscoe, for her valuable input, and Melanie Marin, M.D., for her expert advice.

B usy bodies bounce up and down.

They stretch from side to side and run all around.

They catch and throw. They push and pull.

They pedal, they paddle, they roller-skate, too.

When you get busy, what do you do?

Your body is meant to be busy. Its meant to move fast, lift heavy things, and walk or run for miles. Just look at it.

You have hands for clapping, feet for stamping, legs for leaping, and arms for swinging. You can jump, sprint, twist, and twirl.

You can do all that because your body is built to move. Underneath your skin is a strong, hard skeleton made of bones. Bones keep your body standing tall. Joints connect bones so you can bend.

Muscles are attached to bones by tendons. Muscles let you move and lift and stretch. When you use your muscles again and again, they dont get worn out; instead, they get stronger.

Inside your skull sits your incredible brain. Your brain controls every move you make and thinks your thoughts. It gets information about the world from your five senses.

Then it tells your muscles what to do and how to move. Messages travel back and forth, at lightning speed, along wire-thin fibers called nerves.

Your body is an amazing, living machine. And it only needs a few things to make it go. Like air to breathe.

Food to eat.

And water to drink.

These things come into your body through your mouth or nose. But then where do they go and what do they do?

When you breathe, your lungs collect oxygen from the air. Your muscles need oxygen so they can move. Your brain needs oxygen so it can think. When you breathe in, you get fresh air. When you breathe out, you get rid of stale air.