Take the stuffiness out of science with three books by Glenn Murphy

It’s an… um, handy thing to have. It can scratch, grab, twist and pluck. You can gently hold an egg with it or it can grab, and swing you on the playground. You even have an extra, if you need it — but why are there five fingers on each hand, and 10 toes on your feet? That’s just one of the cool questions you’ll have answered when you read three new books by Glenn Murphy.

So, you’ve got fingers. You’ve got toes, but you’ve also got some learning to do, and the place to start is with zoology. In “Evolution: The Whole Life-on-Earth Story,” you’ll see how it all began.

Why is a gorilla, for instance, called “a gorilla?” How do animals get their scientific names? Why are there no “car-sized bugs?” Where can you see a living dinosaur? Find out in this book, and see why Darwin is so important to zoological studies; why snails are not only slimy, but they’re gross for other reasons, too; what mushrooms eat; why you have five digits; and how you can use your body as a kind of scientific timeline.

Speaking of you and what’s inside, in “Bodies: The Whole Blood-Pumping Story,” you’ll get the skinny on why you need fat in your diet; why you don’t drop dead if you stop breathing; what happens if you’re slashed by the sharp claws of an escaped tiger; why you have baby teeth before you have adult teeth; and what borborgymi is. You’ll also learn things about your body that are kind of icky.

Then, in “Disgusting Science: A Revolting Look at What Makes Things Gross,” you’ll be totally yucked-out with information that you know you’re dying to know.

What, for example, should you expect if you’re an honored guest at a khash party? Why do we eat certain rotten, fermented foods while others make us sick? Learn those facts, as well as why we fear some creatures and make pets of others, what’s “our problem with poo,” why you never want to peek uninvited into a scientist’s refrigerator and why you should be really glad you’re not a dung beetle or a maribou stork.

Questions, questions, questions. Even if (s)he doesn’t verbalize them, your child has them and these three books will put young minds to rest.

But Murphy doesn’t just teach in “Evolution,” “Bodies,” or “Disgusting Science” — he entertains, too, with a back-and-forth format that seems like a conversation between author and reader, and frequent veering-off into all kinds of peripheral topics. That takes the stuffiness out of science and makes it more approachable and more interesting for kids who think science is boring. Furthermore, the illustrations are hilarious and for kids, that’s irresistible.

While these books are meant more for 7- to 12-year-olds, I think older kids (and adults) will get a kick out of them, too. If you’ve got a child who loves weird facts or fun science, then put “Disgusting Science,” “Bodies,” or “Evolution” in his hands.

View publishes Terri Schlichemeyer’s reviews of books for children and teens weekly.