This book is a descriptive account of how an anthropologist can examine skeletal remains to find clues as to the person's home, culture, relationships and job. This book is best served for high school students in honors or AP courses aimed towards history or anthropology, as the practices described here can be difficult for younger students to understand while the insights presented might be best served in a college level course. ( )

This nonfiction book tells about the a bone detective who is well known for creating a bone biography of a skeleton in order to help identify unknown human remains. After high school I considered going to school for forensic science so this book really caught my intention and I learned a lot about identifying a person based solely on bone evidence and other pieces of evidence that may have been left at the crime scene. This book is surely geared for older children, and would prove to be very beneficial when doing a writing assignment about a crime/ mystery or also when sharing about different careers that exist in the world. This book would also be good for teaching about non-fiction text features as well.

I am so that another book exists that is more up to date on some of the methods that are used in forensics, which is why this book might be a bit outdated. However, towards the end of the book, there is great value in the "Old Bones" sections. ( )

363.2

I would use this book in an older setting of children since it deals with death and some grotesque topics, however, I do feel that it is important for the students to learn about if they can handle it. I would use this book in the classroom to teach the human anatomy of the body and relate it to career extensions. I would use this book in a literature context by having my students create a fictional crime solver story on how they used what they learned from the text inside of a murder mystery of their own. I would also have students create their own student friendly version of an informational text covering what they learned in their text. ( )

Summary: This book tells us about how the talented Dr. Michael Charney worked tirelessly to identify a skeleton that was unearthed at a Boy Scout Camp. By examining the teeth, pelvis, skull, and the radius he and Angela Nelson were able to recreate her facial features. With this recreation, a man called and said that he recognized her. From the groups hard work, they were able to determine that the woman's name was Bun Chee Nyhuis and she was accidentally killed by her husband who was prosecuted and is serving a life sentence in prison. Additionally, this book discusses the bones of Lucy, the Iceman, and Jesse James.

Reactions: I remember reading this book when I was a kid, because I was interested in some pretty morbid things :) This book started my love for bones, and made me want to work in the death industry, as either a forensic analyst or a mortician. I still want to pursue that dream sometime down the line.

Classroom Extensions: 1. This would be a great book to read in conjunction with career week. I think it is important to show children the infinite career options out there, and this is a pretty exciting one.

2. This could work well when we are learning about bones. It shows a practical application of their knowledge, so they don't feel like they are studying these things for no reason.

3. There are some pretty awesome anatomy coloring sheets out there, I would print some off and have the kids color code and study the bones in the body. ( )