Club Microbe

Written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Translated by Montana Kane

Drawn & Quarterly

978-1-77046-702-6

56 pp.

Ages 4+

April 2024

 

First there was The Mushroom Fan Club (2018). Then there was The Bug Club (2021). (Soon there will be Disgusting Critters: A Creepy Crawly Collection.) And now the genius of Elise Gravel takes us to the microscopic level to introduce those germs which can harm us and all the microbes that help keep us healthy, make our food, and do so much more.

From Club Microbe, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

From a quirky definition of microbes, Elise Gravel introduces us to different groups such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, and algae. She discusses their sizes, where they can live, and the many fabulous shapes they take. Much of the text involves bacteria and viruses and, though they can cause illness, their roles in helping us with our health and the environment is well noted.

From Club Microbe, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

I especially appreciate Elise Gravel's notes about how we can keep safer from the illnesses they cause, and she does it with humour and wisdom, mentioning hand-washing, vaccinations and antibodies, and foods that promote gut health.

You know I'm a big fan of germs, but I'm not a big fan of the ones that can make me sick.

There is much science embedded in Elise Gravel's report of microbes. She speaks to the use of a microscope to view them and never avoids using their Latin (scientific) names. And she peppers her straightforward text with numerous quirky facts including about a 150-million-year-old bacterium, van Leeuwenhoek's discovery, and even an experiment how to grow some on bread.

From Club Microbe, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

As with all Elise Gravel's books, it's her artwork that completes the stories. And while many bacteria and viruses can look creepy, especially when we know of those that can do harm, like coronavirus, Rabies lyssavirus, and papillomavirus, she is able to keep her illustrations authentic–there is no dispute about identifying COVID with its red-orange spike proteins–but to also make them less than scary, with eyes and sometimes little teeth. And by placing them in the context of similarly anthropomorphized intestines and the brain, and a world of familiar situations, Elise Gravel delights, entertains, and teaches. 

 

There's a lot of learning that can happen here, from the role of bacteriophages to the use of microbes in making bread and cheese, and it's aimed at young children who are able to comprehend that there are microscopic organisms that impact our lives, even if we can't see them. We've already got our own Club Microbes going on in our bodies, so why not help little ones become more familiar with their mutualistic tiny organisms and those that contribute to our worlds. It's a membership we already support or can try to keep at bay. With Elise Gravel's Club Microbe, we'll know even better how they work.

Germ Theory for Babies (Baby University)

Written by Chris Ferrie, Neal Goldstein and Joanna Suder

Sourcebooks

978-1-7282-3407-6

24 pp.

Ages 4-8

February 2021 

The series may be called Baby University and the books' titles always state that they're "for babies" but there is nothing infantile about the topics addressed in Chris Ferrie's books or the approach taken to do so.

From Germ Theory for Babies by Chris Ferrie, Neal Goldstein and Joanna Suder

 

In Germ Theory for Babies which was written with epidemiologist Neal Goldstein and public health attorney Joanna Suder, Chris Ferrie explains how people get sick, starting with the original theory of miasmas causing illness before closer examination of the sick person, ultimately with microscopy, revealed tiny creatures at work. Differentiating between those that can be useful like lactobacillus and those that can make us sick i.e., germs, the authors discuss how germs can be spread, especially important to know during a pandemic. (Actually everything in this book is important to know during a pandemic!)

From Germ Theory for Babies by Chris Ferrie, Neal Goldstein and Joanna Suder

Making sure to speak to young readers, the authors emphasize that germs can live anywhere, including home, school and the environment and can live for different amounts of time, depending on the type. While hitting all the salient information about germs, Chris Ferrie, Neal Goldstein and Joanna Suder give us capsule drawings of a variety of bacteria, viruses and mould including coronavirus, ebolavirus, staphylococcus, streptococcus, rhinovirus, norovirus and aspergillus.

From Germ Theory for Babies by Chris Ferrie, Neal Goldstein and Joanna Suder

 

 

 

 

 

Most relevant for little ones is how to prevent the spread, including not touching one's mouth, nose or eyes, washing hands properly, covering your mouth and even wearing a mask, and staying home when feeling unwell.

From Germ Theory for Babies by Chris Ferrie, Neal Goldstein and Joanna Suder

Germ Theory for Babies is a great primer about germs, how they spread and how to prevent that spread. The text is written at a very easy reading level, with the whole book probably comprising of fewer than two hundred words and most of those being only one or two syllables. The illustrations which appear to be digitally rendered are clean and distinct, appropriate for a concept book, and use white space to effectively focus the reader's attention. Still, zoom bubbles are utilized to provide magnified details of the germs and, while simple, they are accurate and demonstrate the variety of forms that germs can take. (Ebolavirus is a particularly unusual shape.)

 

Don't be put off by the "for Babies" component of the title. These are lessons far beyond those for babies, even if in board book format, but the idea of teaching big concepts in a format perfect for the very young is the whole idea behind Baby University which advances its books as "Simple explanations of complex ideas for your future genius." Germ Theory for Babies should be available to all young children, whether they can read for themselves or not, to understand what we're going through right now with the COVID-19 pandemic and for illnesses from cold viruses, mould and more. But Germ Theory for Babies does more than just enlighten; it also empowers. It prepares children to take precautions and it helps them understand that they can fight back. In other words, it has lessons for everyone.

• • • • • •

Baby University includes over thirty titles by Canadian-born physicist and mathematician Chris Ferrie, including Pandemics for Babies, Rocket Science for Babies, Climate Change for Babies and Robotics for Babies. I encourage teachers and parents interested in fostering scientific exploration with young children to check out the whole series as well as other Chris Ferrie titles, including Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? which I reviewed several years ago.