It's Catching: The Infectious World of Germs and Microbes - Hardcover

Jennifer Gardy is the head of British Columbia’s Center for Disease Control Genome Research Laboratory and an adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia. In addition to her research and teaching, she is often found on TV and radio talking about germs and diseases. She lives in Vancouver. Josh Holinaty is an illustrator whose works include public art commissions and book, magazine, and newspaper illustrations. He also teaches illustration at Guru Digital Arts College. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

Gr 4–6—An amusing but information-packed look at all things infectious. The cartoon illustrations and chatty text with terms like "tummy" and "cooties" and phrases such as "a quick pit stop in the liver" might lead some to assume this is a lightweight read, but there's plenty to offer in this complex but comprehensible work. Grady describes herself as a "disease detective." Working at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, she has spent years tracking the unfriendly microbes that adversely affect humans. Here she includes various specific diseases (malaria, ebola, rabies, to name a few) and germs (viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, among others) and discusses the scientific research that led to medical breakthroughs like antibiotics and vaccinations. Grady also adds a nice soupçon of how the course of human history has been affected by microbes, such as the Irish Potato Famine in 1845 and Napoleon's army in Syria being struck down by the plague in 1798. Also covered are emerging agents of infection, career offerings in public health, and the importance of personal and public hygiene to prevent the spread of disease. This readable, slender introduction to the world of microbial life is an entertaining and informative eye-opener.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY