Opening new worlds

Usually we think of crossover books as books published for adults that find their way into the children's room where they become classics. Occasionally a children's book comes along that is so informative and appealing that it crosses over into the adult market. Not long ago Harry Potter did that and now a new nonfiction book, David Macaulay's The Way We Work seems destined for a similar fate. Everyone is fascinated by the mysterious way human bodies work, but few of us understand the mechanics of digestion, circulation, or reproduction. Thanks to Macaulay's curiosity and hard work, as described in this N.Y. Times article, adults as well as children can have a visual tour of a body and come to understand the remarkable way it works. Children's librarians are often lucky to have a front row seat on some of the most innovative literature that's being produced.