Rodney P. AndersonThe Invisible ABCs: Exploring the World of Microbes (ASM Books)

This is a fabulous primer to microbiology! It is engaging and extremely well written and illustrated, as well as scientifically accurate (something I always look for in a children's book).Because this book is so well written, I can see why the other reviews were expecting that the book was written for an older crowd; however, in the front cover, where it has pictures to help the reader understand the scale of microscopic things: "Your finger would be the size of a thirty-story building, and you would be the size of Mount Everest!" for example. The child is a young elementary school student, so it is obvious that is who the book is written for. While that is the target audience, I found it interesting and insightful, having taken a couple biochemistries, and microbiology. The author is a PhD researcher and professor--yet he has explained complex microbiology in an engaging and accessible way. The name "ABCs", also implies that it is a primer.Bravo. It often has questions at the end of a section that reflect the mind of a researcher, which the author does professionally. If you want to give a good foundation of micro to your kids, and foster the desire to pursue a scientific field, this is the book for you!!

We are really into science books, and this is a pretty good one for introducing the names and basic attributes of common microbes to little kids. Nice balance of pretty pictures and easy-to-digest chunks of information. (Also realistic information, not a cutesey-fication of microbes!) I'm a little under-whelmed in general by the by the alphabet format for presenting non-alphabet information, but some kids seem to go for it, I suppose it keeps things moving (we can agree to read "3 letters" worth at a time) and in this particular case the science information is not compromised for the Alphabet format. Overall I'd recommend it to science-loving households, something to balance out the story books and make a more well-rounded kids' home library.

1) I have a Ph.D. In Biochemistry. Many years ago, I agreed to teach a 5th grade science class as a favor. What it communicates is what every scientist already knows: science is beautiful, profoundly compassionate, and relevant to everything that touches our lives. As a scientist, I found the majority of science curriculum options painfully boring. I would think science is “hard” too with those curricula; it’s hard to chew sawdust.2) Most remarkably, everything in this book is accurate. As a college professor, I see so many students enter college with misconceptions taught by teachers or by curriculum that was “dumbed down” inaccurately. Students with internalized inaccuracies will struggle to overcome them in college intro courses.3) What’s really import here? That an adult is bored with “c” stands for cow, or “x” stands for extreme? These are vivid associations that relate to important concepts - for kids.4) No context for the sheep. Yep, could have been explained. But really, is Google too hard or too slow? This could be an opportunity to teach your child how to figure out what they don’t understand in a text - a necessity in college and a lifelong skill. You would learn that sheep are basically rotting flesh on four legs because they get so many infections. I imagine that’s why the pic was included with pathogens.5) Let’s have perspective. Would like your child to say, “I’m going to med school because of that book and that class,” “I’m doing field research in microbial ecology in Central America now because I was so inspired”?

I was expecting something along the lines of amoeba, bifidobacterium, clostridium difficile, etc. This isn't it. In this book c is for cows (because they have bacteria that help digest cellulose). It is OK, and my kids do enjoy reading it. There are some great photographs--beautiful enough to be wall hangings.

This book is wonderful. I bought it to supplement my microorganisms unit but it was so comprehensive that I ended up structuring me unit around it. However the book is simple enough for all levels.

Great photos of a lot of interesting microorganisms