Up Close and Gross: Microscopic Creatures

Colorful photographs and diagrams of enlarged organisms are paired with squirm-inducing texts to present an accessible look at the (nearly) microscopic world around us… While the casual reader might focus on the “grossness,” budding microbiologists will pore over the up-close images.

This fascinating series is just what students are looking for in nonfiction these days. Packed with intriguing facts and shocking details about the microscopic organisms that invade our bodies, foods we eat, backyard, and home, these books will fly off the shelves! Students will enjoy the vivid up close and personal views of these creepy critters as they pop off the page. They will be squirming in their seats as they learn about how these little invaders can be helpful and harmful and how to rid themselves of these pesky creatures. Teachers will appreciate the bold keywords, eye catching callouts, labeled diagrams, controlled text and other nonfiction features. Recommended.

Colorful photographs and diagrams of enlarged organisms are paired with squirm-inducing texts to present an accessible look at the (nearly) microscopic world around us… While the casual reader might focus on the “grossness,” budding microbiologists will pore over the up-close images.

Never have the wonders of electron microscopy been more thrillingly displayed. From the back end of a flea burrowing into a human toe to a full-page, luridly red-lit, head-on view of a bedbug, these knife-sharp, all-too-explicit photos are riveting. The texts don’t trail far behind in appeal either, offering a rousing commentary on the life cycles and feeding habits of houseflies, head lice, hookworms, molds, bacteria, stinging nettles, and other beastly neighbors beneath headers such as, “Attack of the Plant-Sucking Aphids” and “A Peanut Butter and Rat Hair Sandwich.” For added value, each volume includes a boilerplate explanation of how microphotography is done.