5 Fun Human Body Books for Kids in English, Chinese, and Korean
Since children are naturally curious about their body, it’s no wonder that they are fascinated by human body books! As a pediatrician, I love talking to kids about science. And as a trilingual family, we want our children to learn about their body each language. I’m excited to share our favorite anatomy books in English, Chinese, and Korean, including a fun human body activities book that I wrote!
Several years ago, when I was first browsing online bookstores for anatomy books, I wasn’t sure which books were the best. Shopping for Chinese and Korean books is challenging when you aren’t fluent in those languages! So I started with English books about the body and then looked for translations. I hope our tips and recommendations can help your family.
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This article was originally published in June 2019 and has since been updated with new information.
Human body books in English, Chinese, and Korean
I’ve included links to bookstores plus ISBN information in case you want to look for it at your local library.
Human Body Learning Lab: Take An Inside Tour of How Your Anatomy Works
Based on my experiences as a pediatrician and former homeschooling mom, I created Human Body Learning Lab together with my children! In addition to kid-friendly anatomy facts and health tips, the book features hands-on projects, activities, and experiments with common household and recycled materials. I love the diverse photographs and illustrations plus the incredible clay art from my illustrator, Kelly Murphy!
Although it’s currently only available in English, orders will help overseas publishers notice the book and hopefully translate it into more languages. Fingers crossed for Chinese, Korean, and other languages in the near future!
Where to buy:
Related: More Amazing Books About the Human Body in English
The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body / 神奇校车：在人体中游览 / 신기한 스쿨버스
I adored the Magic School Bus series as a kid, and I love seeing my kids enjoy the series in different languages now! Inside the Human Body is the perfect mix of interesting non-fiction facts and playfully creative fiction. Ms Frizzle takes the class on a tour inside one of the student’s body. They journey into his stomach, blood, and other parts of his amazing anatomy. This trip inside the human body has helped the kids have a memorable learning experience!
Where to buy:
- English: ISBN 9780590414272
- Chinese
- Korean: ISBN 9788949154039
Usborne Look Inside Your Body 어스본요리조리 열어 보는 우리 몸
This popular human body book was originally written in English and has been translated into numerous languages, including Korean. (Traditional Chinese ISBN 9789862037614 is no longer in print unfortunately.) Usborne’s Look Inside Your Body gives a brief overview of the inner organs, and the lift-the-flap feature makes the book fun and interactive for little and big kids!
Where to buy:
- English: ISBN 9781409549475
- Korean: ISBN 9791186872307
Chinese human body book: 乐乐趣身边得科学系列 – 我们的身体
Both of my kids were instantly attracted to this Chinese human body book! There’s actually a 3-dimensional “baby” floating in a pregnant uterus with liquid representing amniotic fluid. And you can move “food” down the digestive tract.
The downside is the inaccuracy of some organs. For example, the image of the digestive tract shows food traveling straight down through the intestines instead of traveling through the normally winding path. The vessels of the circulatory system are drawn somewhat randomly as well.
Still, I would recommend this very unique anatomy book for kids. To make up for the some of the drawbacks, it’s important to compare with accurate illustrations from other books so that children can understand that some books try to simplify concepts.
Where to buy:
- Simplified Chinese: ISBN 9787541745546
- Books Depository (Free int’l shipping)
- Mahu Yu Yi (Singapore, Int’l shipping available)
Chinese Health Guides 影响孩子一生的健康书
For more children’s books about the human body in Chinese, check out our review of the Health Guides Series 影响孩子一生的健康书. My kids love these stories!
Benefits of reading human body books with kids
Reading in general has so many brain benefits! The good news it that reading human body books can boost physical and mental health.
Through anatomy books, children can learn real names of body parts and how organs work. If kids have questions about their body, accurate vocabulary can help them communicate their curiosities and concerns.
For learning new languages, if we need to look up a the name of a body part, we can refer to our human anatomy books in English, Chinese, or Korean!
And when people understand basic health facts, like nutrition labels, doctor’s recommendations, and medication pamphlets, they can be empowered to make healthy decisions.
What makes a good human body book for kids?
Human body books with realistic and diverse images are ideal, especially for young learners who are figuring out the world. Through diverse books, children can learn about protagonists with different cultural backgrounds as well as physical and cognitive abilities.
In addition, seeing images of human beings and realistic characters in different colors, shapes, and sizes can help kids have a healthy body image. It’s good to be picky about illustrations, because we learn with our eyes!
What human body books are less helpful for kids?
My biggest frustration with popular children’s science books is that concepts and images are often cartoonified unnecessarily.
When my daughter asks about viruses and what they look like, most children’s books will feature colorful caricatures with angry faces. In reality, pathogens have no faces or emotions. Furthermore, some bacteria are a good and healthy part of skin and gut flora.
Research shows that nonfiction is cool. But many parents and teachers don’t realize that realistic details are actually fascinating for kids. Instead of “dumbed down” illustrations that are visually misleading, kids can handle straightforward facts about the human heart and brain!
Which human body book is your favorite?
I’d love to know whether you have any of these books already, and what you think of them!
Please leave a comment so that we can all check out your suggestions! 🙂
More ways to empower kids to learn about their body
- Safety First: Why Kids Need to Learn Real Names for Private Parts
- Emotions Book and Montessori 3-part cards in English, Chinese, and Korean