Faulk, Michele. Case of the Rusty Nail.

Faulk, Michele.  Case of the Rusty Nail.  Enslow      2013  48p   $23.93      978-0-7660-3949-0 series: Body System Disease Investigations  ms      E-BN

Nervous-system diseases are examined by a disease investigator in much the same fashion that the series Crime Scene Investigators examines crimes. The diseases highlighted in this book are tetanus, malaria, botulism, rabies, and meningitis.

With bright illustrations and a very engaging text, Dr. Faulk takes the reader through the scientific method of investigating nervous-system illness. Each case investigated begins with the “crime” (i.e., on page 20) and what happened to the patient prior to his or her illness.  The clues and suspects (i.e., on pages 21-22) are then analyzed and investigated, with evidence being tested (pages 23-24) and a verdict, or conclusion, being drawn (page 24). “Justice” (page 25) is served when the treatment for the disease is determined and begun.  Each of the nervous-system diseases in this book follows the same investigative pattern, making it very easy for students to follow the material presented.  The book then tests whether the reader has learned the information to conduct his or her own investigations in a section called “You Solve the Case.”  The book concludes with a glossary, a list for further reading (print and web), and an index.

Well-written, the series of four “body system disease investigations” can provide either general reading or valid, well-documented research information that would be a good adjunct to middle-school health classes.  

Nervous system – Infections                                   --Lynn Fisher