'The Way We Work,' about the human body, is a masterpiece

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Caldecott Medalist David Macaulay had an idea -- an inkling, at least -- that creating a children's book on the human body might be a rather tough challenge."But an inkling is a kind of exciting thing, a 'Let's see if I can do this' kind of thing," Macaulay said in a recent interview. "If I'd had a clear understanding of how hard it would be to do this book, I might never have done it."That would have been a shame, because Macaulay's new 336-page book, "The Way We Work" (Houghton Mifflin, $35, ages 10 up) is a true masterpiece, taking readers on a fascinating journey through the various systems of the human body.The text, which Macaulay worked on with British science writer Richard Walker, is written in clear, simple prose that makes even the most complicated concepts accessible. But it is Macaulay's colored pencil illustrations, teeming with details and laced with humor, that make this book a standout among the dozens of other children's volumes on the human body.As in his now-classic book, "The Way Things Work," Macaulay's comedic sense is a key to why this new book works so well. On one page, for example, Macaulay illustrates how certain body parts carry more sensory receptors by showing two pingpong players, one with outsized lips and hands. In another section, Macaulay shows the connection between the respiratory and circulatory systems in terms of a roller coaster at an amusement park."How can you teach without humor?" the 61-year-old Macaulay said. "That's the thing that cuts across the differences among us. I've long believed that if you can put a smile on the face of a reader, they will better absorb the information you give them."Macaulay originally began research on the book in 2000, but put it aside to create his book, "Mosque," in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. He then went back to "The Way We Work" in 2002.Macaulay, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1991 for "Black and White," said he began by steeping himself in research, reading everything he could find and talking to various experts. They became a "built-in little jury" for the book, he said.Macaulay also sat in on anatomy classes and dissections, and even put his hands into cadavers to get a better sense of where things are.The hardest thing, Macaulay added, "was just the sheer amount of information. I had to decide what to include and what not to include. It was overwhelming. A couple of times, I was ready to quit."Each time that happened, however, Walter Lorraine, Macaulay's longtime editor at Houghton Mifflin, put him back on track. It was Lorraine's suggestion that Macaulay collaborate with another writer on the text so that he could focus most of his energy on the illustrations."He (Lorraine) basically refused to let me stop," Macaulay said.One of Macaulay's most important decisions was basically determining where to start his story of the human body. He eventually settled on the idea of beginning with cells, believing that "without cells none of the other stuff mattered."Creating a book that was different was a major goal. He also wanted to ensure that it was better than the many other children's books on the human body published over the years."I found them unsatisfactory, and so I tried to figure out why. I didn't want to burden an already overburdened subject. ... But I really believe that if you respond to a subject with a personal passion, that your book will distinguish itself from other books on the same subject."Because of working on the book, Macaulay now has much more respect for his body, noting that he now has "pictures in my head of what an area of the body might look like. ... I'm able to connect what I am doing ... with the internal architecture and engineering that makes it possible."Putting the book together was an enormous project, Macaulay said. So it was particularly good timing when Macaulay was named a "genius" by the MacArthur Foundation in 2006. Chosen for their "exceptional creativity," recipients are given $500,000 over five years."This book took at least two years longer than I expected, so this award could not have come at a better time," Macaulay said.Now that he's finally finished "The Way We Work," Macaulay's going to take a brief vacation with his wife and two young children. Then it's on to new projects, which include a book about Earth's systems and another book about how various machines have changed history."I've got plenty to keep me busy," Macaulay said. "I'm just not capable of taking a big break."(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com.)