cover image Becoming Bionic and Other Ways Science Is Making Us Super

Becoming Bionic and Other Ways Science Is Making Us Super

Heather Camlot, illus. by Victor Wong. Owlkids, $19.95 (56p) ISBN 978-1-77147-461-0

Camlot delves into real-life technology to explore the “inventions and advancements that can push us past the limits of the bodies we were born with.” Laden with comic book references (“Would you want to regenerate like Wolverine? Fly like Shazam?”), breezy text discusses the way science can augment the human body and its capabilities in sections about “super” parts, flight, sight, strength, brains, and survival. The sections feature a timeline of historic milestones; newsy paragraphs about current science and technology; and examples of emerging developments, including regeneration, invisible clothing, and brain-to-brain telepathy. Camlot occasionally gestures toward ethical questions, especially in sections on mind control and defying death. Wong’s futuristic visuals, which include human figures of various skin tones, appropriately lean on infographic-like styling. The cool factor is high in this eye-opening portrayal of all the ways science is helping humans “become bionic.” A bibliography and glossary conclude. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)