UNSEEN JUNGLE

Introducing the weird and wonderful world of microbes.

Microbes (“any living creature that’s too small to see”) are things most people might prefer not to think about, despite their abundance. Some of them do terrible things, like make people sick, turn insects into zombified husks, or produce methane gas that contributes to global warming. But others help with digestion, decomposition, vector-borne disease control, and many other things that support life on this planet as we know it. Ably assisted by Wilson’s bright, expressive spot illustrations, entomologist Rice breaks down a whole host of microbes and their M.O.s. She presents the behind-the-scenes microbial influence over familiar creatures and environments (mind-controlling fungi in humble houseflies, for example) in all its sometimes gory glory, with enough detail to satisfy young readers’ curiosity as well as their delight in all things icky but not so much as to become overwhelming. Interviews with a public health veterinarian, a regulatory food microbiologist, an entomologist, and other scientists (depicted as racially diverse in the illustrations) round out the text. The peppy tone might come off as trying too hard to some, and the occasional tangents are a bit distracting, but the author’s palpable excitement for the topic makes an already-fascinating subject even more engaging.

An entertaining and informative exploration of a hidden world.