The doctors during that period of time didn’t believe that he could live with this injury. They thought he was faking, but when they saw him, some started to believe in his story. The book leads me through the information in an organized way by doing the events in order. The new information explains material before additional information is introduced. This book makes me want to learn more about this topic because I’m learning a lot about the brain.

The illustrations and photos are excellent because they show the skull, the iron spike, and how the iron went through Phineas’s skull. The illustrations and photos go with the story in order. They are very clear and easy to see. The colors and photos are accurate and clear. Some of them are a little scary for first and second graders. The book does have a glossary. This is useful because if you don’t know what a word means, you can look it up. For example, an abscess is “a swollen pocket in tissue where dead bacteria and immune cells collect during an infection.”

The book makes me think that the brain is fun to learn about. It was a little challenging because some words I didn’t know. The book fills me with wonder with photos, illustrations, and the writing about the brain. My overall opinion of this book is that it is awesome because it drew me into the subject and made me want to learn more. I would give it four stars and would recommend this book to fourth grade and up. I think Phineas Gage should stay a Cornerstones of Science nominee so more people can learn about brain science.

~ Tami B. of Brunswick, ME
2nd Place, 5th Grade / Read, Write & Win 2007