Solid information presented in a sprightly manner that’s sure to appeal.
A breezy text and comic illustrations introduce middle-grade readers to their microbiomes—the trillions of microbes that live in them and on them.
The author of A World in Your Lunch Box (illustrated by Sa Boothroyd, 2012) turns her attention to the world of our own human bodies, making the point that microbes, the tiniest of living things—bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, protists, and mites—are vitally important in our lives. Topic by topic, one per double-page spread, Eamer introduces these microscopic "hitchhikers," describes their discovery, our "war" against them, and our subsequent realization that the majority are harmless and even beneficial. She goes on to present both harmful and helpful unseen inhabitants of our skin, lungs, mouth, gut, and even poop. And she goes into a little more detail about the human fight against bad bacteria and how bacteria have fought back by evolving. A final chapter describes ways young readers can attract a variety of different microbes to their personal microbiomes and then care for them. Sidebars feature a cartoon bacterium with a fondness for punny jokes and a series of “Did You Know?” factoids (and one urban legend). The unsourced text is lighthearted but briskly informative, and it has a considerable “eeuww!” factor. The jazzy design and plentiful, brightly colored illustrations add appeal.
Solid information presented in a sprightly manner that’s sure to appeal. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-332-5
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun.
In a race against their enemies, the Porch girls must find a peculiar pearl in order to foil a fiendish plot.
After defeating a monstrous Kyrgalops in The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (2024), Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee Porch find themselves (after a series of madcap events) at Lake Kagloopy’s Purple Pearl Hotel with their mentor, Millicent Quibb. Quibb informs the trio that they must find the titular pearl before the members of their evil mad-scientist rivals, the KRA, do. If they fail, the KRA (whose members include the malevolent mayor, Majestina DeWeen, and her slimy sycophantic lawyer, Ashley Cookie) plans to use the gem to bestow the Gift of Endless Vibrancy on the villainous Talon Sharktūth. Hilarity ensues as the Porches attend the annual Shrimp Ball, encounter Umbrella Turkeys, search for Cloudite (floating cloud rocks), and don invisible but smelly woolen coats. Jokes aside, the girls’ story is intriguing, offering more clues to their mysterious backgrounds and tantalizing tidbits promising later adventures. McKinnon offers bountiful backstory (alongside a running joke to encourage readers to pick up the preceding volume) and enough guffaw-inducing jokes, zany footnotes, and creative jargon to enthrall readers both new and old with her delightful sophomore effort. Mixing humor, found family, and well-wrought worldbuilding, this sequel is a certain crowd pleaser. Final art not seen; in the previous book, the grayscale illustrations showed the girls with varying skin tones.
Unforgettably quirky, fast-paced fun. (appendices) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9780316555296
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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