Earth Day Every Day!
Title: Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes
Author: Nicola Davies
Illustrator: Emily Sutton
Publisher: Candlewick Press, 2014 (US)
Themes: Science, Second person, STEAM, Microbes
Opening Lines: You know about big animals, and you know about small animals . . .but do you know that there are creatures so tiny that millions could fit on this ant's antenna?
Why I believe you will LOVE this Book:
As we live through this Pandemic with Covid-19, microbes are taking a front seat in our fear and desire to understand. This picture book provides an understanding of microbes, the good, the bad, the pretty, and the ugly.
This book helps readers grasp the benefits and dangers of microbes. It helps us grasp that they come in many shapes and sizes. There are many more healthy microbes than the bad ones.
Emily Sutton's watercolor illustrations are beautiful and help to make a kind of scary topic less scary.
This is one of those books that you may not pick up on any old average day, but once you do pick it up, I think you will go back to it even when we have any old average days again.
Resources and Activities:
Here is a video of the book being read aloud.
An inspiring video interview with Nicola Davies.
Nicola's Website
Emily Sutton's Website
Learn more about Microbiology
This video is current and puts the health of our earth into relationship with the health of humankind.
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Check out Susanna Hill's Perfect Picture Book Friday Blog post each week to learn about more cool books to read with your kids and add to your collection.
I feel like I've read this book, but I'll have to check it out again. I do think that knowing more helps one be less fearful. I had to appreciate Dan Santat's instagram story about how COVID-19 works, and why soap is a master at destroying it. You don't have to go straight to the nuclear-bleach option. Thanks for the rec!
ReplyDeleteI agree about Dan's instagram story. It was informative and provided simple information on a complex topic.
DeleteWhat I love about children’s books is how they manage to present ideas in a balanced way...informative and simple. I think even as adults we appreciate sharing ideas with more simplicity and less emotional appeal too ;P this looks like a great book
ReplyDeleteThat is the cool and super challenging thing about writing non-fiction for kids. Taking a complex idea and making it understandable and helpful for all ages. When I was a librarian, I often recommended kids non-fiction to adults. It makes easing into a topic so much more pleasant and you are likely to build on that knowledge when you find it interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat an important share right now! I actually understood what Davies was talking about. Adults will enjoy this read too. Great video! I think my grandson would enjoy this one as he likes to figure things out for himself.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome STEM book. Perfect for enticing kids to explore and wonder. I'd have loved having this around when my kids were younger and into seeing everything through a microscope. Thanks for featuring it.
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