Wordsmith Wednesday: Bones: The Unity Of Form And Function

Owen found a great book on bones at the Shuts Environmental Library a while back, and it has become the potty time book of choice. I am sure he will be disappointed when we have to return this one soon. (The picture below is actually a borrowed one; the copy we have has a similar, but IMO nicer looking left hand.???)
Bones: The Unity Of Form And Function (R. McNeill Alexander, 1994) has lots of really great photographs of all kinds of bones. Owen (as well as Abram and I) has really enjoyed looking at a few: the crocodile jaw with a bit cut away so that you can see the new teeth that will replace the old teeth, the comparisons of ostrich and moa bones, the reticulated python (Owen loves to say this!), a baby human skeleton, a horny chameleon (Owen reminds me that not all chameleons have horns), and close-ups of the sutures in the human skull.
The author begins by telling how he grew up near a fertilizer factory where they burned bones, "and when the wind blew from the west, the smell was disgusting." Owen told me while he was sitting on the potty reading the bone book, "Maybe I could grow up with the disgusting smell of burning bones." I had to explain that disgusting meant something we didn't like. Then he wasn't so sure he wanted to grow up with that.
This book has fascinated us all, and should you be on the lookout for a good book on bones, this one is a pleasure to look at.