cover image The Holes in Your Nose

The Holes in Your Nose

Genichiro Yagyu. Kane/Miller Book Publishers, $13.95 (28pp) ISBN 978-0-916291-50-1

The latest Japanese import in Kane/ Miller's My Body Science/Curious Nell series starts out promisingly, with some of the same frank humor that characterized their initial offering (Taro Gomi's Everyone Poops ). Yagyu is certainly informative--he bolsters his explanations of the nose and its functions with diagrams and crisp line drawings, and his largely orange, red and black palette lends a retro-'60s look. Unfortunately, the book goes more than slightly overboard in its exploration of nasal passages. For example, a gorilla with a runny nose denies the offer of a tissue, saying that he plans to ``let it dry then pick it off and eat it.'' Even the hardiest readers may find themselves opting out of this one. Pass the Kleenex, please. Ages 18 mos.-5 yrs. (Apr.)