Microbiology Book for Kids: It’s Catching by Jennifer Gardy and Josh Holinaty

A few days ago I wrote about how I wanted to share some information about what I have found to be good childrens’ science books (based on reading books to my kids).  Well, here is another one: It’s Catching: The Infectious World of Germs and Microbes by Jennifer Gardy and Josh Holinaty.

I first became aware of Jennifer Gardy’s talents in making catchy microbe-themed kids material when she released the Youtube video “The A-Z of Epidemiology: germs from Anthrax to Zoonoses. A disturbing bedtime book for kids.” which is simply awesome. (Note – great animation by Tom Scott):

I watched this video many many many times with my kids – always resulting in painful laughter and entertainment.

I should note that I am collaborating with Jennifer on at least one project (The Kitten Microbiome) and think she is a brilliant scientist and science communicator.  But once I saw her “It’s Catching” I realized she really could have a full career as a children’s science book and video maker.  It’s Catching is both entertaining (like the video) but also educational with information on the history of microbiology and how microbes are studied.  Definitely a good one if you are looking for fun and funny science and/or microbiology themed books for kids.

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Author: Jonathan Eisen

I am an evolutionary biologist and a Professor at U. C. Davis. (see my lab site here). My research focuses on the origin of novelty (how new processes and functions originate). To study this I focus on sequencing and analyzing genomes of organisms, especially microbes and using phylogenomic analysis View all posts by Jonathan Eisen