It's Catching: The Infectious World of Germs and Microbes

My kids (8 and 10) both enjoyed this book. Perfect for homeschool. Topics are thoroughly and scientifically explained, but in an easy to understand manor. The author knows how to grab the attention of children and keep them interested. The information given is complete so this book can easily be used alone for this topic. It is also a book that I am glad to own as I know we will look back on it for information and likely read again. I feel that this book would be best suited for a child 10-14.

We got this book for my 8yr old son for his birthday and he LOVES it! He actually stopped opening all of his gifts at his party once he opened this so that he could go sit down and read through it. He loves learning about infectious diseases and this is perfect for him!

My child wanted to learn about diseases, and there aren’t any books I could find out there that catered to 10 year olds. Text books were too advanced and text heavy. So glad this book talks about two diseases my son wanted to learn about: rabies and Ebola. The book also discusses colds, the flu, stomach bugs, vaccines/meds, and it differentiates bacteria from viruses. It also gives some history on hygeine and how germs spread. The pages are broken up with illustrations, and the addition of color and a change in font sizes makes the page more inviting. I recommend this book for children ages 7-13. It’s easy to read but isn’t too juvenile. Older teens will find it childish. But regardless, it’s still informative. Most lessons are contained to 1 or 2 pages.

Great info for the uneducated. Easy read, very comprehensive.

My kids 10 and up, love this book. Full of odd diseases. We bought it when ebola was in the news and this book talks about ebola, so it was timely for us. We bought it a year ago and my kids are still reading it.

Bought for my son for Christmas because he is very into Biology and microscopes. He loves it and has read it multiple times. Very informational, but also enjoyable for a kid to read.

FOR MY GERM LOVING SON ;) THIS WAS PERFECT, EXPLAINS GERMS IN A YOUNGER VERSION YET VERY TRUE TO FORM.

Great for older kids; very informative

I teach Biology at the high school level, and I have two children of my own in the under-10 age group. When I heard that Dr. Gardy (who works at the BC Center for Disease Control, and has also hosted episodes of Nature of Things on CBC) had written a book about germs, I pre-ordered it immediately. Well, the book has arrived, and I couldn't be happier.The book is packed full of information about microbes - different types of germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites), examples of different diseases (complete with a handy threat-meter for each to tell you how worried you should be about them), and what we can do about them. It's extremely well-written - intelligent, uses just the right number of big words (and uses them well, explaining or defining when necessary), and funny. The illustrations are fantastic - cleverly personified cartoons of various well-known viruses and bacteria. There's even a "try-at-home" activity or two. It's very engaging - my daughter regularly reads a few pages at a time when she comes home from school these days. I've been known to pick it up and "brush up" on some of my knowledge as well - it doesn't cheat on depth of content in order to be simply entertaining.Overall, this is a "best-of-it's-kind" sort of book - the sort of book that not only appeals to the already-interested (like me), but that catches the interest of less-experienced audiences (like my kids). I've seen to it that our school library has ordered a copy, and would happily recommend it to anyone from elementary school and up.

Got it as a X-Mas gift for a 5 year old girl who's already passionate about biology, along with the cartoon series "Once Upon a Time: Life" ; she can't get enough of it and constantly asks her mom to read it to her like a bedtime story.Certain concepts obviously are hard to grasp ; a child who can't even count beyond 100 can hardly imagine what it means to be 5,000 times smaller than a hair's width... But for a book on biology, the language is as simple as can be, the information is accurate, and they even propose a few experiments that can be done at home (prepare to have your kids ask you to let food rot in a container just to see what kind of mold forms on the surface !)As long as the parents are willing to take the time to explain and/or research certain concepts in their kids' company, this is a marvelous gift for any child or pre-teen, one that will still prove resourceful way into their high school years !

I love this book. So fun to read. Funny pictures. Packed with info and a great inspirational tool.

Bought it as a gift for 2 different 9–10 year old girls. The parents loved it. Said the level is perfect - not to easy or too hard.

This book is a must for children to learn what may be lurking in their world and how it could affect them. While it does explain in some depth many of the common microbes and germs, it was entertaining and simple enough for my 8yr old grandson to understand. Wonderful book for children of all ages!