Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

Cough! Wheeze! Groan! It’s flu season! And lucky for you, Perfect Picture Book Friday has a book for that. Here’s a fun, informative book the whole family can enjoy!

Title: Germs, Fact and Fiction, Friends and Foes

Written by: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Illustrated by: James Ransome

Henry Holt & Co., 2017, nonfiction

Suitable for ages: 4-8

Themes/topics: viruses, health, science

Opening:
A long time ago, before your parents existed, and their parents too, before computers and TV—we were born.
We roamed the earth with dinosaurs. Later, we stood at the foot of the pyramids…and sailed the oceans with Christopher Columbus. The first Thanksgiving? You guessed it—we were there.
Let me introduce myself, I was born Salmonella (but only my mom calls me that). My friends call me Sam.

Brief synopsis (flap copy)
Come meet the good, the bad, and the ugly—yes, germs!
There’s so much to discover about germs. Did you know that germs make your stomach growl as they break down your food? Or that they can travel the world on anything from fleas and ticks to trains and buses?
Told from the perspective of Sam the Salmonella, this informative picture book introduces young readers to helpful and harmful germs, exploring their discovery; the breakout of historic diseases; the invention of pasteurization, vaccination, and penicillin; and other fascinating details about the world of microscopic organisms.

Activities and Resources:

• Teacher’s Guide from The Nemours Foundation/KidsHealth (grades 3-5)
• Watch Germs Spread lesson from Scholastic
• Healthy Habits in the Classroom activities
• Various Hand Washing printables are available online.
• Writing: explore personification
• Research: Investigate a disease

Why I like this book:
The writing is fun and packed full of fascinating information, and the art will engage young readers through multiple re-reads. This entertaining book makes a complex science topic comprehensible and has the potential to inspire kids’ interest in health and medicine.

Stay well!!

Visit author Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Books for a plethora of picture books listed by title and topic/theme, each with teacher/parent activities and resources.