Do Not Lick This Book
Do Not Lick This Book. Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost. Roaring Brook Press (June 5, 2018), Ages 4-8
Explore the microscopic habitats of 4 different microbes! Authors Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost have readers use a “fingertip transport mechanism” to meet microbes that live on and around the reader. I loved the cute cartoon microbes handing out in Scanning Electron Micrographs of their habitats! How often can you see paper, tooth surfaces, and belly-button lint at ~ 100x magnification? The real photos reinforce the size of habitats that microbes live in. Even 12-year-old, Jac, likes the interactive nature of this book. Do Not Lick This Book is cute, engaging, and well-done. It’s my go-to gift for babies and early readers!
Microverse Series “Based on a True Story”
Microverse Book Series. Dr. Mike Manefield. Micronovo Pty Ltd. (2015-2018), Ages 4-8
Dr. Mike Manefield has created a lovely series of kids’ books featuring a diversity of bacterial species. The kids and I enjoyed reading Aero Tracks the Source, Vibri Finds Her Glow, Serra Rots a Cucumber, Pelagi Emperor of the Earth, Geo Zaps His Family, Pseu’s Great Escape, and Escher Surfs the Sewer. 7-year-old Emily especially loves that Aero likes jellybeans – just like her! Dr. Manefield is an environmental microbiologist in New South Wales, Australia. Thus the stories feature each microbe in their environmental habitat.
The microbes respond to what they feed on and how they multiply. Kids learn 1) how microbes move, 2) the diversity of microbes out there, 3) how and when microbes multiply. At the back of the book is what my friend Dr. Mark Martin would call a “MicroBiography” featuring an electron micrograph of the organism and a brief scientific overview. Dr. Manefield kindly sent the titles listed above for me to review **. He has two more new books out I haven’t gotten to look at yet – can’t wait! Visit Micronovo to purchase.
The Magical World Inside You
The Magical World Inside of YOU. Jamie Morea and Julie Hays. Hyperbiotics (2017), Ages 4-8
Jamie Morea and Julie Hays have put together a cute, informative board book about the human microbiome for the probiotic company Hyperbiotics. I received my complimentary copy** with an order of their Pro-Kids ENT probiotics that we were trying at the time since they have Streptococcus salivarius K12 and the kids were fighting off repeated bouts of Strep Throat.
The book talks about tooth and gut microbes and how to properly care for your microbial self. I love that they provide pronunciation for the bacterial names! The rhyming is a little forced in places and there’s some aspects that bother me as a microbiologist. The book uses the terms “bugs” and “germs” to mean microbes, not spelling out the genus name (L. paracasei instead of Lactobacullus paracasei) or properly italicizing scientific names, and the overall lecturing style of the book. It’s nice to see a solid educational resource developed by a probiotic company that stays within the science.
Small Friends Books by Scale Free Network
If you love microbiology kids books THE BEST source is Scale Free Network’s series Small Friends Books that are now published by CSIRO! I’ve reviewed several of their books in the past. The Squid, The Vibrio, and The Moon, Zobi and the Zoox, and The Invisible War. The Scale Free Team produces amazing resources! Their books skillfully weave intriguing, yet informative stories about the cutting-edge science of host-microbe mutualisms. The Scale Free team works closely with the scientists whose work is featured. Alisa Wild gently leads readers on an adventure to another realm, while skillfully educating us during the journey. The illustrations by Aviva Reed are breathtaking and enchanting.
The Small Friends Network books all tell the tale of scale and the power of very different organisms working together exceedingly well. After each story is clearly written accompanying information. It’s like getting a series of mini-science books on each member mentioned in the story without being overwhelming. This includes a timeline of the interaction, a magnification scale of the organisms, and information on the metabolism and chemical interactions. Additionally, quotes from the book are elaborated on in the supplemental text. These many features create a resource that can grow with kids as they deepen their knowledge of science. Younger kids like my 2nd grader may focus more on the overall story, while my middle schooler can still be engaged with the additional information.
Aviva Reed’s illustrations depict this microscopic world in all its complexity with an other-worldly aura. Beautifully captivating and exquisite, I could stare at her illustrations over the years and still find new details to appreciate. Excellent microscopy and labeled, detailed illustrations accompany the supplemental information. In sum, co-directors Briony Barr (art) and Dr. Gregory Crocetti (science), writer Ailsa Wild, and illustrator Aviva Reed – the members of the Scale Free Network – are an amazing mutualistic community themselves. I am eternally grateful for the powerful books they create.
Nema and the Xenos: A Story of Soil Cycles
Nema and the Xenos: A Story of Soil Cycles. Ailsa Wild, Aviva Reed, Briony Barr, and Gregory Crocetti, in collaboration with S. Patricia Stock. CSIRO publishing (2019), Ages 8-12.
“Little things can make a big difference! The big tree hurts, so the bacteria and worms come help eat the grub.”
As summarized by Emily, age 7
Emily loved the “adventure” that the nematodes take. The compelling adventure theme drew me in too. Scaling sand grains and decomposing leaves, avoiding hungry mites and fungi with lassos – life in the soil is perilous for nematodes. But with help from helpful fungi associated with the tree roots, chemical signals, and urging by the nematode’s own mutualistic bacteria, the Xenos, the nematodes find their way to the tree roots and kill the grub feeding on the roots.
Nema and the Xenos is an incredible collaboration to summarize and honor the research of Dr. Patricia Stock at the University of Arizona (now Dean of the College of Agriculture at University of California, Chico). Dr. Stock has long been a scientist whom I admire as a scientist, mom, and person. She was so supportive of me when I became a mom during my PhD research on insect-bacterial symbioses at UA! So maybe I’m a little biased, but Nema and the Xenos may have edged The Squid, The Vibrio, and the Moon out of 1st place as my favorite Small Friends Book. Such an incredible book!
The Forest in the Tree: How Fungi Shape the Earth
The Forest in the Tree: How Fungi Shape the Earth. Ailsa Wild, Aviva Reed, Briony Barr, and Gregory Crocetti. CSIRO publishing (2020), Ages 8-12.
Love chocolate? Thank microbes! The Forest in the Tree: How Fungi Shape the Earth takes our Small Friends Network journey to the land of the Cacao tree – the source of chocolate beans! Underground networks of fungi and several different bacterial species work together to help a chocolate tree named Broma. During the story, Broma’s fungus friend helps her mature from a seedling to a fruiting tree by connecting to other trees. Fungal networks transport nutrients and water, helping Broma and most of her seedlings survive a time of drought.
As with all the Small Friends books, there are some individuals that don’t survive a stressful time or perilous journey. In this story, one of Broma’s seedlings dies. There the book pauses and holds the community during that time and then an appreciation of the life cycle. Nutrients from the dead seedling nurture the rest of the community. Yet another magnificent addition to the Small Friends Network collection! Anyone loving microbes must own all of these books (or in my case, multiple copies). They are works of literary, scientific, and illustrative art.
Stay tuned for another Round-Up of Microbial Kids Books coming soon! Visit the Education section of the blog for other reviews. Let me know if you have read these or other microbiology-themed kids books. I’m always excited about good kids books, especially when microbes are involved!
*Links to purchase the books are Amazon Affiliate links
**The publisher provided me with a copy of the book reviewed above; however, that did not influence my review.