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Microbes play a massive part in our lives, more so than we even realize. And at a young age, kids encounter new microbes regularly. Some of these microbes help keep your child healthy while others make your child sick. So, it seems appropriate to introduce your kids to microbes at an early age. And what better way to share the microbial world with your children than with a book?

I found three children’s books about microbes that I think are fun, informative, and provide a balance of teaching about the microbes that help and those that harm. So, I want to share them with you here. Two of these books are for younger children between 4-8 years old, and one is for older kids between 8-12 years old. So, you can cover quite a range of ages with these three books.

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For Younger Kids (ages 4-8)

Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies

This book is the perfect introduction to microbes. And the illustrations are some of my favorites I’ve ever seen depicting the microbial world. It begins by reminding us of the “big animals” like whales and the “tiny animals” like ants. It then brings our view down to the microscopic world full of different organisms that can’t be seen by the naked eye. I love that this book emphasizes that not all microbes are germs and that very few actually cause disease. So, we don’t have to worry about all of the microbes out there. In other words—no need to be a germophobe, which is something I am passionate about (see my post “Not All Microbes Are Germs”). This book also touches on the different roles microbes play in the environment and even describes how they multiply. I genuinely love this book and highly recommend it.

Do not lick this book by Idan Ben-Barak

This book tells the story of a microbe named Min. As you read it, the book instructs the reader to touch the book to pick up Min and take her on a journey. The pages feature both illustrations and actual scanning electron microscope images of paper, teeth, fabric, and skin, all of the places you take Min on her adventure. I love this book because it teaches that microbes are everywhere and can be picked up easily when we touch things.

For Older Kids (ages 8-12)

It’s Catching: The Infectious World of Germs and Microbes by Jennifer Gardy

If you want to give your kid a book that will teach them all about germs, here’s a great one. It starts off by introducing microbes and differentiates them from germs, which I appreciate, as I mentioned above. Then, it describes different germs including the common cold, influenza, food poisoning, rabies, malaria, measles, and Ebola among others. Each germ has a profile that tells the scientific names, its mode of transmission, symptoms of illness, and its “DangerMeter” rating. The last part explains how we live with germs and how epidemiologists, microbiologists, mathematicians, sociologists, and doctors and nurses study and work with them. This book has fun illustrations and contains lots of information that I wish everyone knew about microbes and germs.

So, there you have it. Three books to help your kids get more acquainted with microbes. These three books do a great job of conveying the wonder of the microbial world in a way that children can appreciate. And who knows? Maybe you will enjoy these even without your kids.

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