Micro Mania: A Really Close-Up Look at Bacteria, Bedbugs,
& the Zillions of Other Gross Little Creatures That Live In, On & All
Around You!
By Jordan D. Brown
80 pages, ages 9 and up
Imagine Publishing, 2011
“Try not to panic,” writes Jordan Brown, “but there are
billions of tiny creatures crawling all over your skin.” And that’s just
outside your body; trillions more of these itty-bitty things – called microbes –
live inside your body.
What does that mean? First: you’re never alone. Second: that
bacteria, protozoans, viruses, yeasts and other tiny creatures play a vital
role in our environment. They break down dead plants and animals, help bread
rise, and gobble oil spills. But they can also cause diseases and some, in
particular fleas and bed bugs, can be very itchy.
Micro Mania is a big book about very small things. Brown
discusses pet pests, creatures in the kitchen, germy sponges, and even the tiny
tardigrades that survived a recent trip into space. He also mentions nano-robots
that could, in the future, help repair human cells or explore toxic
environments. This book is chock-full of great close-up photos, things to try
(such as making a plankton net) and informative sidebars, such as how to avoid
lyme-disease causing ticks.
For more science resources check out STEM Friday.