Invisible Allies: Microbes That Shape Our Lives (BCCB Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards)) - Hardcover

Farrell, Jeanette

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374336083 ISBN 13: 9780374336080

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2005

Synopsis

Mmm-mmm, microbes!

Although we are accustomed to equating the presence of
microbes with disease, in fact most microbes play a vital
"friendly" role in shaping our lives. It is not just that one
hundred million microbes can populate a thimbleful of fertile
soil, or that many millions live happily in as much of our saliva.
Microbes are everywhere, and we could not survive without
them. To emphasize their amazing ubiquity, Jeanette Farrell
considers the invisible bugs essential to an everyday event: the
eating of a light lunch consisting of a cheese sandwich and a
chocolate bar. Microbes create such a lunch, digest it, and,
through the alchemy of decomposition, transform it so that the
cycle can start all over again. In the course of her eye-opening
narrative, Dr. Farrell relates the historical significance of using
microbes to preserve foods, our long-standing ambivalence
about the microbes that live on and in us, and our growing
understanding of their importance.

Interspersed with fascinating anecdotes and illustrations,
Invisible Allies will transform the reader's perception of the
microcosmic world - around and inside us.

About this title

Review

* "Farrell brings an engaged and thoughtful approach to her subject. There's enough sheer fascination in Farrell's account of the teeming microscopic world to attract general-interest gawkers, who may find more interest in science than they had expected." --"The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books," starred review * "Intriguing." --"The Horn Book," starred review * "A broad ranging and imminently readable book. Never talking down to her audience or hyping the grosser aspects of the subject, she presents what is known about beneficial microbes and acknowledges the ongoing scientific study of these amazing life forms." --"Booklist," starred review "This page-turner will persuade young readers, if not to love the microbes in which we are all more or less immersed, at least to appreciate them." --"Kirkus Reviews""Lively and engaging. A fascinating read." --"Booklist""This book is science for youth at its best and a must-have. One might hope there are more books to come from this author." --"VOYA"

* Farrell brings an engaged and thoughtful approach to her subject. There's enough sheer fascination in Farrell's account of the teeming microscopic world to attract general-interest gawkers, who may find more interest in science than they had expected. "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review"

* Intriguing. "The Horn Book, starred review"

* A broad ranging and imminently readable book. Never talking down to her audience or hyping the grosser aspects of the subject, she presents what is known about beneficial microbes and acknowledges the ongoing scientific study of these amazing life forms. "Booklist, starred review"

This page-turner will persuade young readers, if not to love the microbes in which we are all more or less immersed, at least to appreciate them. "Kirkus Reviews"

Lively and engaging. A fascinating read. "Booklist"

This book is science for youth at its best and a must-have. One might hope there are more books to come from this author. "VOYA""

Farrell brings an engaged and thoughtful approach to her subject. There's enough sheer fascination in Farrell's account of the teeming microscopic world to attract general-interest gawkers, who may find more interest in science than they had expected. "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, " starred review

Intriguing. "The Horn Book, " starred review

A broad ranging and imminently readable book. Never talking down to her audience or hyping the grosser aspects of the subject, she presents what is known about beneficial microbes and acknowledges the ongoing scientific study of these amazing life forms. "Booklist, "starred review

This page-turner will persuade young readers, if not to love the microbes in which we are all more or less immersed, at least to appreciate them. "Kirkus Reviews"

Lively and engaging. A fascinating read. "Booklist"

This book is science for youth at its best and a must-have. One might hope there are more books to come from this author. "VOYA""

Farrell brings an engaged and thoughtful approach to her subject . . . There's enough sheer fascination in Farrell's account of the teeming microscopic world to attract general-interest gawkers, who may find more interest in science than they had expected. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

Farrell offers intriguing insights into human dependence on microbes . . . Informative. Nearly all nonfiction readers will connect with this enjoyable introduction to microbes, whether they think they re interested in science or not. Horn Book, 2005 edition, starred review

A fascinating, broad ranging, and imminently readable book on the beneficial roles of microbes . . . Without talking down to her audience or hyping the grosser aspects of the subject, Farrell presents what is known about beneficial microbes and acknowledges the ongoing study of these amazing life-forms. Booklist, starred review

This page-turner will persuade young readers, if not to love the microbes in which we are all more or less immersed, at least to appreciate them. Kirkus Reviews

Students who will not read anything might well be hooked by this one. Its use in the classroom is easily applicable in a science, history, or foods class. This book is science for youth at its best and a must-have. One might hope there are more books to come from this author. VOYA, starred review

"

About the Author

Jeanette Farrell, as a girl, worked on weekends at a
tuberculosis sanatorium in Kentucky founded by her father.
After graduating from college, she volunteered for a leprosy
relief agency in India. She has recently completed her medical
residency in Seattle, Washington, where she lives with her
husband and two children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0374336083
• ISBN 13: 9780374336080
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 165