Here are 66 books that Inside Your Insides fans have personally recommended if you like
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I have a confession: I became an award-winning science communicator for kids sort of by accident. Well, the science part wasn’t an accident… I just didn’t know what I was doing had a name: science communication. I only knew that I had questions! So I set out to approach my questions with facts, humor, empathy, and critical thinking; to interview professionals-in-the-field and to share what I learned from them with kids. For my germs book (I’m Trying To Love Germs), I spoke with professionals in the fields of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, and medicine, and read every kids' germ book I could get my hands on.
As a kid, I would have carried It’s Catching with me everywhere, reading facts about our microbial world out loud to anyone who would listen.
Starting with an introduction to a disease detective—who just happens to be the author, a real-life (female!) science researcher—the book gives a perfectly concise intro to the teeny world of microbiology before branching out into specific players like viruses and bacteria.
My favorite section dives into “Great Germs”—the most common illnesses our bodies face on a global scale. It’s filled with super-interesting anecdotes covering things like the history of the disease, how it was named, how it spreads, or how to prevent it. Each pathogen even gets rated 1-10 on the “Danger-Meter!”
Don’t be afraid to delve into the good, bad, and sometimes truly ugly world of germs. Microbiologist Jennifer Gardy, who calls herself a disease detective, picks up her microscope to bring expert insight to the microbes that are all around us but are too small to see. Irreverent, playful, and contagious in all the best ways, It’s Catching discusses a range of germs and the diseases they cause, from the common cold to food poisoning to the Ebola virus. Young readers will be enticed and pretty grossed out while becoming immersed in information about pus, bacteria, DNA, genomes,…
I have a confession: I became an award-winning science communicator for kids sort of by accident. Well, the science part wasn’t an accident… I just didn’t know what I was doing had a name: science communication. I only knew that I had questions! So I set out to approach my questions with facts, humor, empathy, and critical thinking; to interview professionals-in-the-field and to share what I learned from them with kids. For my germs book (I’m Trying To Love Germs), I spoke with professionals in the fields of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, and medicine, and read every kids' germ book I could get my hands on.
Germy Science calls itself “A Gross Science Book” and the icky, phlemy, booger & fart-filled illustrations do not disappoint!
The book does a really great job of giving a well-paced (and hilariously illustrated) history of our human understanding of microbes and medicine: from Ancient Greeks blaming the gods, to our first ventures into hand-washing and pasteurization. Early attempts at inoculation provide lots of gross examples, including 1600s China using ground-up smallpox scabs… eww… but also—wow!
The book even makes a thoughtful mention of Covid-19 in the section about plagues and pandemics—which is wisely titled “Germs That Changed History”.
This perfectly revolting — and perfectly timely! — introduction to germs from award-winning comedy writer Edward Kay will turn any kid into a master of microbes!
Children get up close and personal with germs (ew!) in this entertaining, thoroughly researched exploration of the science and history of these tiny, ubiquitous creatures. Heavy on the gross factor to keep readers engaged, the book covers what germs are, how we get sick, how the human immune system works and the best ways to stay healthy. There are intriguing stories about early attempts to fight disease (heard about corpse catapults? how about shaved…
I have a confession: I became an award-winning science communicator for kids sort of by accident. Well, the science part wasn’t an accident… I just didn’t know what I was doing had a name: science communication. I only knew that I had questions! So I set out to approach my questions with facts, humor, empathy, and critical thinking; to interview professionals-in-the-field and to share what I learned from them with kids. For my germs book (I’m Trying To Love Germs), I spoke with professionals in the fields of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, and medicine, and read every kids' germ book I could get my hands on.
This is the 4th STEM picture book from the Fishman/Greenberg duo and every one of them is worth a read.
Up Your Nose does a great job helping younger readers connect the invisible world of microbes with things their grown-ups say: phrases like “Wash Your hands!”, “Take A Bath!” and more. Playful illustration showcases the different types of microorganisms that live in, on, and around us, and even shows us where they like to hide (spoiler alert: it’s kinda everywhere.)
I especially like the part about the barriers our body uses to keep germs at bay: stuff like our skin, tears, and even mucus!
What exactly are germs? And what do they do? The acclaimed and award-winning author and artist of A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars have created a timely—and funny!—introduction to germs and the human body’s natural response to the microscopic (sometimes) organisms. An informative and accessible choice for fans of Andrea Beatty’s Ada Twist, Scientist and Kimberly Derting and Shelli R. Johannes’s Loves Science series.
Did you know that there are quadrillions of germs in the world? And that hundreds of billions of germs may be in the room around you—and inside you as well?
Acclaimed creators Seth Fishman and Isabel Greenberg…
I have a confession: I became an award-winning science communicator for kids sort of by accident. Well, the science part wasn’t an accident… I just didn’t know what I was doing had a name: science communication. I only knew that I had questions! So I set out to approach my questions with facts, humor, empathy, and critical thinking; to interview professionals-in-the-field and to share what I learned from them with kids. For my germs book (I’m Trying To Love Germs), I spoke with professionals in the fields of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, and medicine, and read every kids' germ book I could get my hands on.
The Bacteria Book is an in-depth look into one of the heaviest hitters in the microbial world: bacteria.
Even though it’s a bacteria book (quite literally) other microbes get honorable mentions along the way (viruses, fungi, archaea, etc.) helping to round out the information. The book has lots of really interesting photographs and images from microscopes; bacteria on teeth are revealed in all their sticky glory through the magic of the electron microscope.
My son was drawn to the real-world images of molding fruit and zombie ants, and we both appreciated the fact-filled “Timeline of Microbiology” towards the end.
In this fun, fact-packed science book for kids, young readers will discover the bacteria, viruses, and other germs and microbes that keep our bodies and our world running, as well as how and when they can be harmful and the precautions we can take to prevent them from becoming so.
Meet a glowing squid, traveling fungus spores, and much more. The Bacteria Book walks the line between "ew, gross!" and "oh, cool!," exploring why we need bacteria and introducing readers to its microbial mates-viruses, fungi, algae, archaea, and protozoa.
The Bacteria Book is a fun and informative introduction to a…
I first adopted a vegan diet for the animals and then shifted to a plant-based vegan "for my health" in my mid-20s. I felt fabulous for the next 10-15 years. Then, in my mid-30s, I suddenly developed severe and chronic GI symptoms. I was severely bloated, nauseous, and constipated, which didn't make sense given how much fiber I was eating. After diagnosis and treatment for H Pylori (a bacterial infection), I was left with a "broken belly" (severe dysbiosis). I've spent the last few years reading every book on gut health and hormones to learn how to heal myself since traditional medicine has failed me.
Best, most succinct, and comprehensive book I’ve read on the topic of gut health by far. It's also written in a friendly, conversational tone (not overly dry or academic). Things I like: The authors provide a specific daily fiber recommendation (29-35g minimum) for gut health; they discuss how antibiotics and antibiotic soap/cleaner affects microbes, the impacts of glycemic load and industrial flour, and most importantly: they provide evidence so the reader can draw their own conclusions as to what’s best for them diet-wise instead of using fear-mongering.
Note: This book is not "pure vegan" (the authors suggest dairy in some situations).
The groundbreaking science behind the surprising source of good health
Stanford University's Justin and Erica Sonnenburg are pioneers in the most exciting and potentially transformative field of human health and wellness, the study of the relationship between our bodies and the trillions of organisms representing thousands of species to which our bodies play host, the microbes we call the microbiota. The Sonnenburgs argue that the microbiota determines in no small part whether we're sick or healthy, fit or obese, sunny or moody-and that the microbiota has always been with us, coevolving with humans and entwining its functions with ours. They…
I'm enchanted by ecology – how life on Earth is both a web and a seamless continuum. In my first book, Corpse, I explored the organisms that colonize the human body after death. In Good Germs, Bad Germs, I immersed myself in our symbiotic relationship with the ever-present bacteria that live in us and on us. I’m passionate about understanding how we evolved to survive in a bacterial world and how we must take the long-term view of surviving – and thriving – in their ever-present embrace. My joy has been in exploring the world of science and translating this joy into lay-accessible stories that entertain as well as educate.
If you can get past the sensational (fear-mongering?) title, Tony Harts' slender volume is a delight of colorful micrographs of the bacterial, viral and fungal microbes that cause human infections. His phenomenal microscopy brings the world of “germs” alive – often against the eerie landscape of our own cells and tissues. Not just a picture book, Hart provides succinct, accurate, and lay-accessible information on the spectrum of important, disease-causing microbes and the hazards they pose when they show up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Despite the confident strides of modern science, the threat of deadly unseen organisms such as viruses, bacteria and fungi still grip the imagination with their ferocious intensity.
For instance, resistant strains of bacteria can now survive the strongest antibiotics and deadly new biological weapons are being cooked up in laboratories worldwide.
Microterrors explores these threats as well as humanity's greatest living rivals that have been on the planet far longer than we have.
The introduction covers terms, definitions and a brief natural history, including the role of viruses in human evolution, as well as bioengineering…
I'm an author of books for young readers. These days, there’s nothing more important than having conversations about the Coronavirus disease. It can be hard for grown-ups to start a conversation about Covid with their kids. But they can read a book about the subject and invite the kids to respond to what they heard and saw. My book COVID-19 Helpers was the first place winner of the Emery Global Health Institute’s e-book contest back in May 2020. Through the pandemic, I’ve been reading and talking about the virus with kids from around the world. If you're interested in having me read one of my books to your school, clinic, or your daycare center feel free to get in touch.
I love simple graphical picture books. I love books with a sense of humor. I love books that are interactive, talk directly to the audience, and get kids to physically act out things as they’re being read to. This story has so many elements that I love…I wish I wrote it! The story explains that microbes are everywhere and invites the reader to touch the book and pick up a tiny microbe that is lounging in the paper. Then it invites the reader to touch one of their teeth. This transfers the microbe into their mouth. The book goes on to prompt the reader to discover the microbes in their clothes and their belly buttons! Yuck, right? Well, that kind of yuck is an effective way of demonstrating the point that after you touch stuff, it’s a good idea to wash your hands.
Min is a microbe. She is small. Very small. In fact so small that you'd need to look through a microscope to see her. Or you can simply open this book and take Min on an adventure to amazing places she's never seen before - like the icy glaciers of your tooth or the twisted, tangled jungle that is your shirt.The perfect book for anyone who wants to take a closer look at the world.
I studied chemistry at university but nature and biology are lifelong passions. I’ve researched and written about biology over three decades and published many articles and reviews, as well as the three books: The Gecko's Foot; Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage; and Nanoscience: Giants of the Infinitesimal, co-written with the sculptor Tom Grimsey. We are at a tipping point with climate change and the books I’ve chosen show how the convergence of chemistry, biology, and geology have provided the most dramatic revelations about life on earth and are the best guides to understanding and mitigating our current environmental predicament.
For me, the most enthralling revelation of recent biology has been that living cells really do contain engines: protein structures more complex than a petrol engine, with moving parts. One is even a nano electric motor with a rotor. This is known in exquisite detail thanks to the miracles of modern imaging and gene and protein sequencing. This nano machinery developed billions of years ago in bacteria and is little changed today in all living cells. Falkowski updates Margulis’s work from 20 years earlier with these modern marvels. These nano engines run photosynthesis in bacteria and plants and give all living things their energy.
The relevance of the bacterial nano engines for the environment rests in their role in modulating the great cycles of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and a few others as they pass through the soil and rocks, the oceans, living things, and the air. Life’s Engines…
For almost four billion years, microbes had the primordial oceans all to themselves. The stewards of Earth, these organisms transformed the chemistry of our planet to make it habitable for plants, animals, and us. Life's Engines takes readers deep into the microscopic world to explore how these marvelous creatures made life on Earth possible--and how human life today would cease to exist without them. Paul Falkowski looks "under the hood" of microbes to find the engines of life, the actual working parts that do the biochemical heavy lifting for every living organism on Earth. With insight and humor, he explains…
Microorganisms have bewitched me since childhood when I remember seeing floating dust particles glinting in sunbeams and wondering what they were and if they were alive. Decades later, my research has included experiments on the amazing mechanisms that shoot fungal spores into the air to form part of that dust, which is one of several odd coincidences in my life. As an educator (Miami University in Ohio) and science writer my interests in biology go beyond the fungi, but I never stray too far from my obsession with the smallest organisms. Microbes are everywhere and will outlive us by an eternity.
Viruses and bacteria attract all the attention from microbiologists and fungi are given short shrift in most textbooks. This needs to change because fungi are bona fide microbes that grow as budding yeast cells and colonies of slender threads and spin the planet’s carbon cycle. There are plenty of popular books on fungal biology, but John Ramsbottom’s Mushrooms and Toadstools, first published in 1953, has not been bettered. It captivates the reader with a succession of marvelous stories without losing grip on the science. This book is a great place to begin a lifetime of learning about fungi.
Britain's neglect of fungi as table delicacies has perhaps been responsible for our surprising ignorance of the natural history of such fascinating plants. This edition is exclusive to newnaturalists.com
Britain's neglect of fungi as table delicacies has perhaps been responsible for our surprising ignorance of the natural history of such fascinating plants. Puff-balls, more than a foot in diameter; mouls in jam-pots; dry rot; truffles; these are examples of the wide range of the Group, comprising over 100,000 species.
Many are of economic importance - for example, the rusts that attack wheat and other crops, and the yeasts which ferment…
I'm enchanted by ecology – how life on Earth is both a web and a seamless continuum. In my first book, Corpse, I explored the organisms that colonize the human body after death. In Good Germs, Bad Germs, I immersed myself in our symbiotic relationship with the ever-present bacteria that live in us and on us. I’m passionate about understanding how we evolved to survive in a bacterial world and how we must take the long-term view of surviving – and thriving – in their ever-present embrace. My joy has been in exploring the world of science and translating this joy into lay-accessible stories that entertain as well as educate.
I know I’m double dipping here with another of Carl’s books. I love how he takes one, ubiquitous micro-inhabitant of the human body and uses it to explore what it means to be alive and interconnected with the life in and around us. I love how Carl flips away our human perspective to “view” the word through the chemical-sensing molecules of a single-celled organism – E. coli. Superb, fun science writing.
A Best Book of the YearSeed Magazine • Granta Magazine • The Plain-DealerIn this fascinating and utterly engaging book, Carl Zimmer traces E. coli's pivotal role in the history of biology, from the discovery of DNA to the latest advances in biotechnology. He reveals the many surprising and alarming parallels between E. coli's life and our own. And he describes how E. coli changes in real time, revealing billions of years of history encoded within its genome. E. coli is also the most engineered species on Earth, and as scientists retool this microbe to produce life-saving drugs and clean fuel,…
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