  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 06/01/2014 *Starred Review* Who wouldn’t be fascinated by organisms that can eat anything: plants, animals (alive or dead), even oil and rocks? English biologist Davies introduces the strange realm of microbes: their minute sizes, their vast numbers, their diverse forms, and their varied roles in shaping our world. Simply written and concise, the text opens with comparisons that describe just how small these microorganisms are, noting that the picture of an ant would need to be as big as a whale in order for the millions of microbes on its antenna to be visible. While the analogy comparing the number of microbes in a teaspoon of soil to the population of India may be challenging for some young children to grasp, the colorful painting illustrating the idea could serve as a jumping-off point for further discussion. The information that some microbes cause illness is placed within the context of the many amazing things they accomplish. Reminiscent of Alice and Martin Provensen’s artwork in its combination of formal structure and amiable tone, Sutton’s large-scale illustrations help children to visualize microorganisms and processes that are too small to see. The sequence of simple images illustrating multiplying microbes is quite effective. A handsome and rewarding picture book about the power of tiny creatures. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2014 The world that we can’t see is even more populous than the world we can, a point made by biologist Davies in her introduction to microbes for very young audiences. Simple descriptions and comparisons (“there are creatures so tiny that millions could fit on this ant’s antenna”) help explain this group of organisms, with points made about their variability, their durability, and their human-relevant achievements; the book also makes a point of noting that microbes that make you sick are in the minority (“Most microbes are busy doing other things”). The subject is broader than usual for Davies’ early biology treatises, and the absence of the slightly more sophisticated secondary narrative found in those makes this an entry-level approach for kids who are just starting to think about the world beyond the visible. While the book oversimplifies at times, the colorful examples and vivid explanations (the book gives microbes big credit for their ability to multiply at speed) help bring this unseen world to life. Though scale is confusing in a few illustrations, the figures, in a retro autumnal palette on cream matte pages, have a charming naïveté. Microbes are an undertreated topic in literature for the younger crowd, and this could be a good introduction for that first revelatory look through a microscope. DS - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 07/01/2014 Gr 2–4—A pleasant, picture book-style look at a rather icky topic: microbes, the teeny tiny critters that live on us and in us and everywhere around us, with an impact that belies their minute size. Davies's writing is straightforward but not dry; in fact, she puts the scale and numbers of microbes into fascinating contexts. For instance, to make the millions of microbes on an ant's antenna visible, the antenna would have to be enlarged to the size of a whale. Sutton's folk-art illustrations are rendered in earthy tones on creamy paper and feature two smiling kiddos and a winsome cat, making for a warm visual presentation (who'd have thought a paramecium could be pretty?). This really is an enjoyable beginner's look at these miniscule organisms and the effect they can have on everything from our bodies to the soil to the clouds in the sky.—Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
 |